Japanese exports tumbled at their steepest pace in seven years as a stronger yen weighed on international shipments.

    Exports slid 14% on-year, as forecast by a Reuters poll of economists. This was the tenth month in a row that exports fell from a year earlier. Imports meanwhile tanked 24.7% on-year, worse than the 20.6% decline expected and the largest drop since 2009. 

    The yen was 0.6% higher around 99.73 per dollar following the data, bringing its year-to-date gains to more than 17%. A stronger currency is a headache for domestic exporters as it eats into repatriated earnings and makes goods of Japanese competitors, such as South Korea, more attractive in comparison.