Japan’s Outlook for Exports
The Bank of Japan (BoJ) recently lowered its GDP forecast for the year, partly because of weakness in exports. However, BoJ Governor Kuroda remained optimistic that exports would pick up, saying, “[A]s for the outlook, exports are expected to increase moderately… due to improvements in overseas economies and the boost from a weak yen."
To verify whether Governor Kuroda’s positive outlook is warranted, we monitor ECRI’s Japanese Leading Exports Index (JALExI), specifically designed to anticipate cyclical turning points in Japanese exports, which bears a surprise for the BoJ.