The latest Japanese government data has showed continued weakness in the country's international trade performance during October 2016.

Japanese Ministry of Finance figures showed that exports fell 10.3 per cent in October compared to a year earlier, a fall attributed to a strong rise in the value of the yen and a drop in export volumes.

Economists had expected a decline of only around 8.5 per cent for the month, with the result also highlighted as being considerably worse than the 6.9 per cent decline observed in September.

Meanwhile, imports decreased 16.5 per cent during the same period, resulting in a trade surplus of 496.2 billion yen (€4.22 billion). As a result, trade made a positive overall contribution to the country's economic performance in the most recent quarter.

Yuichi Kodama, chief economist at Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance, said: "Overall exports are starting to stall and this month's results are disappointing. The data once again shows that global economic recovery isn't necessarily smooth sailing."