Oct exports 1.6 yryr, imports 12.5
Trade balance swung back into deficit
Exports to bottom out in mid2024 analyst

TOKYO, Nov 16 Reuters Japanese exports grew for a second straight month in October but at a sharply slower pace due to slumping Chinabound shipments of chips and steel, as weakening external demand takes its toll on the tradereliant economy.

Exports rose 1.6 in October from a year earlier, Ministry of Finance data showed on Thursday, faster than a 1.2 increase expected by economists in a Reuters poll but slower than the 4.3 rise in September.

Weak exports have complicated Japan39;s efforts to spur economic growth with sluggish domestic demand also weighing on the postpandemic recovery.

With China39;s economy crawling at the bottom and demand from the United States and Europe slowing, we need to wait until the middle of next year for exports to bottom out, said Atsushi Takeda, chief economist at Itochu Economic Research Institute.

Until then, Japan would need to count on consumption and capital expenditure to pick up the slack.

With the absence of growth drivers, some economists warn Japan could fall into a technical recession, defined as two straight quarters of contraction.

Japan39;s economy weakened in JulySeptember, snapping two straight quarters of expansion on soft consumption and exports, data showed on Wednesday.

By destination, exports to China, Japan39;s largest trading partner, fell 4.0 yearonyear in October, posting 11 straight months…