(MENAFN) Japan's exports reduced less than expected while a drop in imports underscored the challenge to Prime Minister in stoking domestic demand, Bloomberg reported.
Overseas shipments decreased 1.3 percent in August from a year earlier, compared with the median estimate for a 2.6 percent decrease according to a survey of 25 economists. Imports were 1.5 percent lower, resulting a deficit of USD8.7 billion.
The Prime Minister must decide whether to raise Japan's sales tax to 10 percent next year after April's increase plunged the economy into its deepest contraction in five years.
Recovery is being undermined with household spending falling in the four months since April, output sluggish and exports unable to provide an engine for growth.
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