TOKYO (AP) – Japan posted a record trade deficit in August as costs for imports of oil and gas soared, the government reported yesterday.
The JPY2.82-trillion (USD19.6 billion) deficit, the 13th in a row, was triple the deficit logged in the same month a year earlier.
Customs-data showed exports rose 22 per cent from a year earlier as regional economies recovered from pandemic-related disruptions while imports soared 50 per cent.
Energy-related imports from the Middle East accounted for about half of the deficit.
