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▼ Japan's Trade Deficit Shrinks 70% To ¥662.5 Bil In October
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Japan's trade deficit in October shrank 70.0 percent from a year earlier to 662.5 billion yen as imports continued to drop sharply and exports grew for the second straight month, government data showed Thursday.
It was the first red ink in two months, as exports increased 1.6 percent from a year earlier to 9.15 trillion yen, a record high for the month, but growth slowed from a 4.3 percent rise in September affected by a deceleration of the Chinese economy, according to the Finance Ministry.
Imports dropped 12.5 percent to 9.81 trillion yen, down for the seventh month, reflecting price falls for coal, liquefied natural gas and crude oil, the ministry said in a preliminary report.
Japan had a trade surplus of 915.16 billion yen with the United States, hitting a record high for the month, as exports expanded 8.4 percent on robust shipments of automobiles. Imports dropped 4.5 percent to 1.01 trillion yen.
Meanwhile, Japan logged a 674.3 billion yen trade deficit with its largest trading partner China, remaining in the red for the 31st straight month.
Food exports to China tumbled 55.0 percent amid a blanket import ban on Japanese seafood after Japan started discharging treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea from August.
Japan's overall exports to China dropped 4.0 percent to 1.65 trillion yen for the 11th consecutive monthly decline, led by sharp falls of electric components and steel, while imports declined 2.9 percent to 2.33 trillion yen.
"Looking ahead, Japan's trade deficit is on the mend, more than halving from over 1 trillion yen earlier this year" as import costs had been trending downward recently, said Kazuma Kishikawa, an economist at Daiwa Institute of Research.
But the risk of rising import costs remains due to the recent depreciation of the yen, which was 2.6 percent weaker relative to the U.S. dollar compared with a year earlier, as well as surging oil prices last month since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in the Middle East, Kishikawa said.
With the rest of Asia, including China, Japan's trade deficit decreased by 62.5 percent to 63.53 billion yen, the first red ink in two months, as exports dropped 5.3 percent and imports shed 7.2 percent.
Japan was in the red for the 15th straight month with the European Union, registering a trade deficit of 86.63 billion yen. Imports shrank 5.6 percent and exports grew 8.9 percent.
© KYODO
It was the first red ink in two months, as exports increased 1.6 percent from a year earlier to 9.15 trillion yen, a record high for the month, but growth slowed from a 4.3 percent rise in September affected by a deceleration of the Chinese economy, according to the Finance Ministry.
Imports dropped 12.5 percent to 9.81 trillion yen, down for the seventh month, reflecting price falls for coal, liquefied natural gas and crude oil, the ministry said in a preliminary report.
Japan had a trade surplus of 915.16 billion yen with the United States, hitting a record high for the month, as exports expanded 8.4 percent on robust shipments of automobiles. Imports dropped 4.5 percent to 1.01 trillion yen.
Meanwhile, Japan logged a 674.3 billion yen trade deficit with its largest trading partner China, remaining in the red for the 31st straight month.
Food exports to China tumbled 55.0 percent amid a blanket import ban on Japanese seafood after Japan started discharging treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea from August.
Japan's overall exports to China dropped 4.0 percent to 1.65 trillion yen for the 11th consecutive monthly decline, led by sharp falls of electric components and steel, while imports declined 2.9 percent to 2.33 trillion yen.
"Looking ahead, Japan's trade deficit is on the mend, more than halving from over 1 trillion yen earlier this year" as import costs had been trending downward recently, said Kazuma Kishikawa, an economist at Daiwa Institute of Research.
But the risk of rising import costs remains due to the recent depreciation of the yen, which was 2.6 percent weaker relative to the U.S. dollar compared with a year earlier, as well as surging oil prices last month since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in the Middle East, Kishikawa said.
With the rest of Asia, including China, Japan's trade deficit decreased by 62.5 percent to 63.53 billion yen, the first red ink in two months, as exports dropped 5.3 percent and imports shed 7.2 percent.
Japan was in the red for the 15th straight month with the European Union, registering a trade deficit of 86.63 billion yen. Imports shrank 5.6 percent and exports grew 8.9 percent.
© KYODO
- November 16, 2023
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