Japan logged a record trade deficit in January, government data showed on Monday, the clearest evidence to date of pain from a firm yen, a global slowdown and rising fuel imports needed to offset declining use of nuclear power.
Japan’s exports slumped 9.3 percent in January from a year earlier, slightly less than the median market estimate of 9.5 percent but still the fourth straight month of decline, in a sign the economy could struggle to recover even as reconstruction from last year’s earthquake and tsunami proceeds.
Seasonal factors influenced the data, and economists expect exports to recover soon as global growth picks up. Still, the figures could feed into concerns about how much longer Japan can rely on exports to help offset its huge public debt.
“Special factors such as the earthquake last year, the nuclear problem, and a temporary slowdown in the global economy … came together and pushed down the trade balance,” said Takeshi Minami, chief economist at Norinchukin Research Institute.
“Exports are likely to return to surplus in the latter half of this year as a slowdown in emerging nations’ economies is expected to stop around April-June.”
The trade deficit came to 1.475 trillion yen (USD18.59 billion), bigger than the median forecast of 1.468 trillion yen in a Reuters poll and surpassing the previous record of a 967.9 billion yen deficit in January 2009 in the wake of the global financial crisis, Ministry of Finance data showed.
Imports grew 9.8 percent from the same month a year earlier, more than the median estimate for a 9.5 percent annual rise.