Tokyo, 17 February, /AJMEDIA/
Japan posted its largest goods trade deficit in eight years in January, as imports continued to swell on the back of higher energy costs and a weaker yen, government data showed Thursday.
The country had a deficit of 2.19 trillion yen ($19 billion), the sixth straight month of red ink and the biggest since January 2014 when a 2.80 trillion yen deficit was marked, according to a preliminary report by the Finance Ministry.
The value of overall imports rose 39.6 percent from a year earlier to 8.52 trillion yen, up for the 12th consecutive month and hitting a record high for the third month in a row since comparable data became available in January 1979.
Surging crude oil, coal and liquefied natural gas prices as well as the yen’s depreciation against the U.S. dollar amid prospects of monetary tightening by the U.S. Federal Reserve have all contributed to pushing up Japan’s value of imports.
The expansion of imports outpaced a 9.6 percent increase in exports to 6.33 trillion yen, an 11th straight monthly rise based on increased unit prices of exported items such as steel and diesel oil.
All figures were compiled on a customs-cleared basis.