The iShares MSCI Japan Index Fund (NYSEArca: EWJ) was up more than 1% in U.S. trading Wednesday after Japan said exports fell in March as natural and nuclear disasters slowed the economy.
Exports fell 2.2% in March from a year ago, the first decline in over a year.
“It will take time for exports to recover to pre-earthquake levels, given that supply-chain disruptions and electricity shortages are hampering efforts to restore production,” Hiromichi Shirakawa, an economist at Credit Suisse, wrote in a research note Wednesday, The New York Times reported.
“A sharp decline in production after the earthquake may have a larger impact on exports in April and May,” he said.