国际英语新闻：Japan's exports rise 9.1% in Nov, but trade balance slumps

TOKYO, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- Japan's exports rose 9.1 percent in November from a year earlier, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said in a report on Wednesday, marking the 12th straight month of growth.

The rise was slower than the median forecast of a 10 percent increase and follows a 7.8 percent rise in October, although authorities cited rising demand from China and a weakening yen as boosting Japanese exports in November.

Exports to Asia, which account for more than half of Japan's total exports, rose 13 percent from a year earlier, while shipments to China increased 18.3 percent, the ministry's data revealed.

The value of exports in the recording period stood at 5,441.1 billion yen (64.95 billion U.S. dollars) from a year earlier, the ministry said. However the trade balance was logged at 162.8 billion yen (1.9 billion U.S. dollars), down 55.4 percent from a year earlier.

"We may see signs of a bottoming out of the deterioration in exports since May, given a rebound in Asian demand and a letup in the yen's retreat from a 15-year high," Masayuki Kichikawa, chief economist at Merrill Lynch Japan Securities Co., said.

The figures, according to the ministry, are measured on a customs-cleared basis before adjustments for seasonal factors.

Economists predict a continued upward trend awaits for the nation's export sector.

"Recent economic indicators have posted signs of reacceleration in global growth, particularly in the U.S. and in China," which bodes well for Japanese exports, added Takehiro Sato, chief Japan economist at Morgan Stanley MUFG Securities Co. in Tokyo.