Japanese steel exports increased again year-on-year in July, according to preliminary data from the Ministry of Finance. The growth comes despite the stronger yen, which is having a negative impact on sales to spot markets in Southeast Asia, Kallanish notes.

Japan’s iron and steel exports gained 1.3% year-on-year in July to 3.55 million tonnes, although they were down slightly from June. Exports to Asia were also up 1.3% to 2.67mt.

An improvement from China’s poor performance last year helped boost Japan’s exports there by 9.5% y-o-y to 500,000t, while exports to Asia excluding East Asia were up 12.6% to 910,000t. This was counteracted however by a -0.8% decline in exports to Asean to 1.08mt.

Japan’s total exports have been declining for the last ten months, largely because of a strengthening yen. The currency is hampering Japan’s ability to compete with other Asian exporters for spot cargos but this was never its strong point. The stronger yen’s impact on steel exports could be counteracted by Japanese carmakers shifting production to other countries, which will require more Japanese steel sent to those factories.

Japanese iron and steel imports meanwhile were down -4.5% y-o-y to 579,228t in July, according to the Ministry of Finance.