Japan Logs Biggest Current Account Deficit Since 2014, highlights the dependence of Japan’s resource-deficient economy on imports of raw materials

[beijingwalker]

Japan Logs Biggest Current Account Deficit Since 2014, highlights the dependence of Japan’s resource-deficient economy on imports of commodities and raw materials​

March 8, 2022

Japan posted a current account deficit of 1.1887 trillion yen ($10.31 billion) in January, data showed, versus economists’ median estimate of a 880 billion yen deficit in a poll​

Japan recorded its largest current account deficit since the start of 2014 in January as a jump in oil import costs offset gains in investment income, with continuing uncertainty due to the Ukraine crisis and Covid-19 pandemic.

The current account data highlighted the dependence of Japan’s resource-deficient economy on imports of commodities and raw materials, which caused the trade deficit to widen.

Japan, the world’s third-largest economy, posted a current account deficit of 1.1887 trillion yen ($10.31 billion) in January, the data showed, versus economists’ median estimate of a 880 billion yen deficit in a Reuters poll.

It was the second straight month of deficit and marked the second largest deficit under comparable data going back to 1985.

Surging fuel costs drove up the value of imports by 39.9% in January from a year earlier, outpacing a 15.2% rise in exports.

Balance Of Payment​

In addition, Japan’s trade deficit with China widened in January. China-bound exports slowed before the Lunar New Year break while imports from the country surged due to stocking demand before the holiday period.

“Given such a temporary factor and a hefty investment income surplus, I don’t think Japan’s balance of payment will swing to deficit as a trend anytime soon,” Takashi Miwa, chief economist at Nomura Securities, said.

Japan earns steady and hefty return from its past investment in securities and direct investment overseas, which have replaced trade as the main driver of its current account surplus in recent years.

While a weak yen also helped inflate the cost of imports, its boost to export volumes was not as great as it once was due to an ongoing shift of exporters’ production abroad, analysts say.
Underscoring changes in Japan’s economic structure, a steady rise in returns from Japanese direct and portfolio investment overseas helped offset the trade deficit, bringing Japan’s primary income surplus to 1.289 trillion yen in January.

The data also showed sharp declines in foreign tourist arrivals, reducing the travel account to a surplus of just 12.3 billion yen. The overall services deficit came to 737.9 billion yen, the data showed.

Japan Logs Biggest Current Account Deficit Since 2014

Japan posted its largest current account deficit since 2014 in January as a jump in oil import costs offset gains in investment income.

www.asiafinancial.com

 

[8888888888888]

Well they are a vassal of US.

 

[MyNameAintJeff]

The rapidly aging population will eventually kill the Japanese economy.
They should take away those stupid manga and anime and tell the Japanese youth to get out their homes and start working and breeding!

 

[TheSolution]

The rapidly aging population will eventually kill the Japanese economy.
They should take away those stupid manga and anime and tell the Japanese youth to get out their homes and start working and breeding!

I heard they have AI anime girlfriends

 

[casual]

I heard they have AI anime girlfriends

And body pillows

 

[beijingwalker]

South Korea posts $1.39 billion trade deficit for March 1-10 as energy prices bite​

PUBLISHED THU, MAR 10 202210:01 PM EST

KEY POINTS

• South Korea posted a $1.39 billion trade deficit for the first 10 days of March, customs agency data showed on Friday, with soaring commodities prices heightening pressure on the trade-reliant economy.
• Exports during the period rose 14.9% year-on-year to $18.74 billion, boosted by a 28.5% jump in sales of semiconductors, the nation’s top foreign exchange earner, and a 98.8% surge in those of petroleum products. Shipments of steel products also jumped 25.6%.
• Data showed overall exports to China, the country’s biggest trading partner, rose 13.5%, while sales to the United States and European Union also increased 7.2% and 9%, respectively.

Shipping containers stacked in the container terminal at Busan Port on November 05, 2021 in Busan, South Korea.
Chung Sung-jun | Getty Images News | Getty Images

South Korea posted a $1.39 billion trade deficit for the first 10 days of March, customs agency data showed on Friday, with soaring commodities prices heightening pressure on the trade-reliant economy.
Exports during the period rose 14.9% year-on-year to $18.74 billion, boosted by a 28.5% jump in sales of semiconductors, the nation’s top foreign exchange earner, and a 98.8% surge in those of petroleum products. Shipments of steel products also jumped 25.6%.

Data showed overall exports to China, the country’s biggest trading partner, rose 13.5%, while sales to the United States and European Union also increased 7.2% and 9%, respectively.

Imports for March 1-10 period rose 15.3% from a year earlier to $20.13 billion, mostly due to a sharp rise in the price of commodities.
Imports of crude oil, gas and petroleum products soared 43.6%, 87% and 46.3%, respectively, while purchases of semiconductors also jumped 18.8%.

South Korea posts $1.39 billion trade deficit for March 1-10 as energy prices bite

South Korea posted a $1.39 billion trade deficit for the first 10 days of March, with soaring commodities prices heightening pressure.

www.cnbc.com

 

[beijingwalker]

Japan posts trade gap far wider than forecasts as China exports slow, energy imports soar​

Fargo, ND, USA / The Mighty 790 KFGO | KFGO
Thomson Reuters
Apr 19, 2022 | 9:32 PM

By Daniel Leussink

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan recorded a trade deficit in March that was more than four times wider than market forecasts, as China-bound exports slowed sharply while soaring energy prices raised the cost of imports, adding to economic challenges brought by conflict in Ukraine.

Outgoing trade was restrained by a decline in car exports and a slowdown in the growth of shipments to Japan’s biggest trading partner China, data showed, indicating continuing risk from global supply constraints and the coronavirus pandemic.

The persistent trade deficit highlights the world’s third-largest economy’s vulnerability to soaring import costs.

“Japan’s economy may see a slower recovery if China-bound exports are sluggish,” said Takeshi Minami, chief economist at Norinchukin Research Institute. Exports to China make up over a fifth of Japan’s total shipments in value terms, he said.

Imports soared 31.2% in the year to March, Ministry of Finance data showed on Wednesday, above a median forecast of 28.9% in a Reuters poll of economists.

That outpaced a 14.7% rise in exports, resulting in a trade deficit of 412.4 billion yen ($3.19 billion) – eclipsing the 100.8 billion yen estimated in the poll.

March marked the eighth consecutive deficit, though it was the smallest in five months.

By region, exports to China grew a mere 2.9% in the 12 months to March, helped in part by stronger shipments of audiovisual projectors. That was much weaker than the previous month’s 25.8%.

“China’s zero-coronavirus policies and lockdowns in cities caused production activity to shrink, hurting Japanese exports of parts and capital goods,” said Norinchukin’s Minami.

Exports to the United States, the world’s largest economy, grew 23.8% on stronger shipments of motor vehicle parts and power-generating machinery.

Overall, however, exports were dragged down by a 0.7% drop in motor vehicle shipments.

Imports were mainly pushed up by larger shipments of oil from the United Arab Emirates as well as coal and liquefied natural gas from Australia, the data showed.

“Net trade is set to have knocked off around 0.5 percentage point from GDP (gross domestic product) growth last quarter as import volumes rose a lot faster than export volumes,” said Tom Learmouth, Japan economist at Capital Economics.

“But driven by the Japanese staples of cars and capital goods, we think exports will soon start to outpace imports.”

Japan’s economy is likely to grow an annualised 4.9% in the current quarter on a pick-up in consumer activity after the government ended coronavirus pandemic curbs last month, showed a separate Reuters poll of economists.

But rapid weakening of the yen, which has slid to two-decade lows against the U.S. dollar on prospects of widening U.S.-Japan interest rate differentials, are inflating already rising import costs for fuel and food, putting pressure on household spending power.

($1 = 129.1800 yen)

Japan posts trade gap far wider than forecasts as China exports slow, energy imports soar

By Daniel Leussink TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan recorded a trade deficit in March that was more than four times wider than market forecasts, as China-bound exports slowed sharply while soaring energy prices raised the cost of imports, adding to economic...

kfgo.com

 

[Mista]

Japan's Feb current account swings back to surplus from big deficit

TOKYO : Japan's current account balance swung back into the black in February from its second-biggest deficit on record in the previous month, providing some respite for policymakers amid a deterioration in economic fundamentals.Soaring fuel costs and a weak yen have expanded Japan's trade...

www.channelnewsasia.com