USDJPY and Nikkei futures don't know what to make of tonight's data. Is it bad enough that we buy stocks (sell JPY) on the basis that Abe and Kuroda will have to do more or is it so bad that it 'proves' no matter what they do, the gig is up. It seems, by the reaction the latter as Japan's trade balance collapses to the 3rd worst on record. Exports rose 18.6% (more than expected) but it is the imports that soared higher (26.1% vs 19.0% expectations) on the back of surging fuel costs. So, Abe got his inflation - on the cost push side (crushing margins) and not the animal-spirit-competitive exuberance demand-pull side. Perhaps it is time to rename it Abe-wrong-ics. Of course, we await Goldman's blessing of the number as just wait one more quarter for the J-curve to turn up on this devaluation cycle... we wait patiently...
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Seems like bad news is not good news in Japan...
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As the slow painful death of nation needing energy (of course) and having to pay for it in a currency that is increasingly worth-less (or worthless)...
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Charts: Bloomberg