Business | Jul 21

Japan posts record half-year trade deficit

Jul 21 (NHK) - Japan's trade deficit rose to a record in the first six months of the year.

That was as fuel prices remained high due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the weaker yen made imports more expensive.

Preliminary trade data released by the Finance Ministry show a deficit of nearly 8 trillion yen for the January-to-June period.

That's equal to about 57 billion dollars and is the highest half-year number since officials started keeping comparable data back in 1979.

Imports surged 38 percent on the year to 390 billion dollars, outpacing a 15-percent increase in exports.

Source: ANNnewsCH

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