Japan records a trade deficit for the third straight fiscal year

Japan recorded a trade deficit for the third straight fiscal year as the costs of energy and other imports rose and the yen remained weakThe deficit was 589 trillion yen USD 38 billion for the fiscal year that ended in March according to Finance Ministry data released on WednesdayThe biggest trade deficits were in the Middle East mainly Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as well as Australia and Indonesia Japan had a trade surplus with the US and some European countriesAnnual exports to China slipped slightly declining for the first time in four years although the latest monthly data show exports to China recovering growing 12 per cent from the previous yearRobert Carnell regional head of research AsiaPacific at ING Economics said strong technologyrelated exports were behind the jump in exports to China while noting exports were also growing to other regionsWe think exports will be the main engine for growth in the coming months he said in a reportThe recent decline in the value of the Japanese yen affected the trade balance as it cost more in yen to import and boosted the value of exports when converted to yen The US dollar is trading at above 150 yen recently up from 130yen mark a year agoData for the month of March also released on Wednesday showed Japan marked a trade surplus of 3665 billion yen USD 24 billion as exports grew 7 per cent from a year ago while imports declined nearly 5 per cent Exports to the US in March grew more than 8 per centThe fiscal 2023 trade deficit was much smaller than what was racked up in fiscal 2022 when the economy was hit by the war in Ukraine and energy prices soared It was about the same as what was recorded in fiscal 2021 Japan had a trade surplus in fiscal 2020The social restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic made securing parts including computer chips a challenge denting Japans production and exports But such problems have gradually easedBy product category Japan imported food while exporting autos auto parts and electrical machinery Inbound tourism is booming which counts statistically as an exportThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever