Japan trade deficit soars on weak yen, high oil prices

[beijingwalker]

Japan trade deficit soars on weak yen, high oil prices​

December 15, 2022

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s trade deficit surged to over 2 trillion yen ($15 billion) in November as higher costs for oil and a weak yen combined to push imports sharply higher.

It was the 16th straight month of red ink and a record high for the month of November. The country will likely post a record deficit for the year.

The deficit for November was double that for the same month the year before. Exports rose 20% to 8.8 trillion yen ($64 billion) while imports surged 30% from a year earlier to 10.9 trillion yen ($80 billion).

The world’s third-largest economy has been recovering after Japan gradually loosened anti-virus precautions in the second half of the year and reopened its borders to foreign tourists in October.

But its export sector is under pressure from rising costs, shortages of computer chips and some other industrial inputs and weakening demand as central banks in major markets like the United States and European Union impose interest rate hikes to slow business activity and tame inflation.

Shipments to China rose only 3.5%, as the country remained in the throes of its “zero-COVID” restrictions, which hurt business activity including manufacturing. Exports to all of Asia climbed nearly 12%.

Japan’s exports to the U.S. jumped nearly 33%, with the trade surplus rising 54%.

Exports of vehicles were sharply higher as shortages of computer chips and other parts eased. Meanwhile, imports of coal, gas and other fuels surged more than 60%, boosted by higher prices and the weaker yen.

Japan’s imports from Russia dropped 36% in November, with a sharp decline in shipments of oil, natural gas and timber. Tokyo has joined other democracies in imposing sanctions against Moscow for its war on Ukraine, though it has said it will continue to import natural gas from a joint project in Sakhalin in Russia’s Far East.

A weaker currency makes imports more expensive in yen-denominated terms. Japan’s currency has lost value against the U.S. dollar and other currencies as the Federal Reserve and other central banks have raised interest rates while the Bank of Japan has kept its key interest rate at an ultra-low minus 0.1%. Japan’s domestic inflation has remained relatively low and with recessions looming elsewhere, the concern is that higher rates might derail the country’s fragile economic recovery.

Japan trade deficit soars on weak yen, high oil prices

TOKYO (AP) — Japan's trade deficit surged to over 2 trillion yen ($15 billion) in November as higher costs for oil and a weak yen combined to push imports sharply higher. It was the 16th straight month of red ink and a record high for the month of November.

apnews.com

 

[beijingwalker]

Japan logs trade deficit for 16th month​

Published: December 15, 2022 03:18 PM

Tokyo, Dec 15 Japan logged a 2.03 trillion yen ($14.95 billion) trade deficit in November, a record for the month and marking the 16th straight month of red ink, amid higher energy prices and a weaker yen, the Finance Ministry said in a report on Thursday.

According to the Finance Ministry, the country's imports jumped 30.3 per cent from a year earlier to 10.86 trillion yen, pushed up by soaring prices for energy-linked imports, while exports were up 20 per cent to 8.84 trillion yen), as Japan heads toward booking its largest-ever annual trade deficit at the end of 2022, reports Xinhua news agency.

Japan's deficit has climbed to 18.51 trillion yen this year, well past the current record high logged in 2014 of 12.82 trillion yen, according to the Ministry report.

In the same period, Japan logged a trade surplus of 680.39 billion yen with the US, with exports leaping 32.5 per cent to 1.72 trillion yen, while imports jumped 21.5 percent to 1.04 trillion yen, according to the Finance Ministry.

The prevailing view among leading economists here remains that in the first half of 2023, Japan will slip into a mild recession amid a global slowdown that will further hit the resource-poor country's sluggish exports.

This, economists said, is evidenced by the economy here unexpectedly shrinking for the first time in four quarters in the July-September period, and the current account turning red in both January and October this year.

Japan's poor fiscal health, the worst in the industrialized world, has also been punctuated by a persistently weak yen owing to a widening interest rate gap between the Bank of Japan and the US Federal Reserve, they added.

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Japan logs trade deficit for 16th month: Tokyo, Dec 15 Japan logged a 2.03 trillion yen ($14.95 billion) trade deficit in November, a record for ... . Get all latest entertainment & viral stories on www.lokmattimes.com

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