Japan Trade, Steel Readings Softening
- According to the Japan Iron and Steel Federation, year-over-year crude steel output from Japan fell for the fourth month in a row, declining 4.9 percent from October 2018 to October 2019. Production did increased 1.5 percent from September 2019 to October 2019.
- In what was the largest decline in three years, the Japanese government announced last week that exports from the country fell 9.2 percent from October 2018 to 2019. Economists had predicted a 7.5 percent decline. According to Bloomberg, “Drops in automobile and steel shipments were major factors” in the worse-than-expected reading. Imports to Japan were off 14.8 percent year-over-year.