Japan's export growth slowed for a sixth straight month in August, in a sign that the recovery is losing steam. August's 15.8% annual rise in exports was well down from a peak in February, when growth rose to 45.3%. The August slowdown came as the yen approached a 15-year high against the dollar, and led to Japan's central bank intervening to weaken the currency. Japan is also worried that a deepening territorial row with its biggest export partner, China, will also hurt growth. The Japanese trade figures show that US-bound exports rose 8.8% from a year earlier, but were much weaker than the 25.9% rise in July. Exports to Asia, which account for more than half of Japan's total exports, rose 18.6% from August last year, slower than July's increase of 23.8%. Exports to China were up 18.5% in August from a year earlier, down from a 22.7% annual increase in July. Japan's fragile recovery continues to worry analysts. "We still face the risk of a double-dip recession," said Takahide Kiuchi, chief economist at Nomura Securities in Tokyo. Japan's export-led recovery has been constrained by the strong yen, which makes goods sold abroad more expensive and reduces the value of profits repatriated.