Apr 20 (Al Jazeera) - Japan recorded a trade deficit in March that was more than four times wider than market forecasts, as China-bound exports slowed sharply while soaring energy prices raised the cost of imports, adding to economic challenges brought by conflict in Ukraine.
Outgoing trade was restrained by a decline in car exports and a slowdown in the growth of shipments to Japan’s biggest trading partner China, data showed, indicating continuing risk from global supply constraints and the coronavirus pandemic.
The persistent trade deficit highlights the world’s third-largest economy’s vulnerability to soaring import costs.
“Japan’s economy may see a slower recovery if China-bound exports are sluggish,” said Takeshi Minami, chief economist at Norinchukin Research Institute. Exports to China make up more than a fifth of Japan’s total shipments in value terms, he said.
Imports soared 31.2 percent in the year to March, Ministry of Finance data showed on Wednesday, above a median forecast of 28.9 percent in a Reuters poll of economists.
That outpaced a 14.7 percent rise in exports, resulting in a trade deficit of 412.4 billion yen ($3.19bn) – eclipsing the 100.8 billion yen ($785.73m) estimated in the poll.
March marked the eighth consecutive deficit, though it was the smallest in five months.
