JAPAN'S export growth improved for the first time in nine months in November, a possible sign that global demand is turning up again.
Exports from the world's third-largest economy rose 9.1 percent from a year earlier, the government said yesterday.
While exports have expanded throughout the year, the rate of growth has steadily fallen as overseas demand cooled and the yen rose to 15-year highs. In February, exports jumped more than 45 percent. By October, that had slid to less than 8 percent.
The slowdown triggered widespread concern about the fate of Japan's recovery, which has depended heavily on exports.