Japan’s trade growth slowed to 6.2% year over year in November from 9.3% on average in the prior three months. That was mostly accounted for by an increase of just 0.1% in exports. While such a slowdown hasn’t been unusual in Asia – China, India and South Korea all saw reduced export growth in November – Japan’s deceleration has been more marked. Imports of semiconductors fell 0.1% and auto-parts by 3.7%, indicating a slowing in industrial supply chain activity globally. Exports to both China and the U.S. increased, albeit modestly, suggesting their bilateral trade war was not a major...