Japan Logs Trade Deficit Again in Dec As Imports Outpace Exports

Reuters

9:05 JST, January 19, 2023

TOKYO, Jan 19 (Reuters) – Japan’s exports rose 11.5% in December from a year earlier while imports grew 20.6%, resulting in a trade deficit worth 1.45 trillion yen ($11.27 billion), Ministry of Finance data showed on Thursday.

The rises in shipments and imports compared with 10.1% and 22.4% year-on-year gains respectively expected by economists in a Reuters poll.

The trade deficit compared with economists’ median estimates for 1.65 trillion yen.

For the whole of 2022, Japan logged a trade deficit of 19.971 trillion yen, the biggest amount on record going back to 1979.