By Yang Jie
Japan’s exports fell for a second straight month in August, dragged down by weakening demand for mineral fuels and semiconductor manufacturing equipment, official data showed Wednesday.
Exports fell 0.8% in August from a year earlier, worsening from July’s 0.3% decline, according to data released by the Ministry of Finance. Economists surveyed by data provider FactSet had projected exports to fall 0.5%.
Lower shipments of items such as chip-making equipment and mineral fuels led to a decline in exports to China and Asia, which fell 11% and 8.8%, respectively.
However, exports to the U.S. and EU continued to grow, rising 5.1% and 12.7%, respectively on higher shipments of products such as cars.
Write to Yang Jie at jie.yang@wsj.com
