Japan posted a record current account deficit in January, marking four straight months of red ink for the first time as soaring demand for energy and the weakening of the yen triggered a surge in import costs, the Finance Ministry said Monday in a preliminary report.
The deficit in the balance, one of the widest gauges of international trade for a country, stood at ¥1.589 trillion ($15.427 billion), the largest since comparable data became available in 1985, highlighting Japan's diminishing ability to earn money from abroad.
Imports jumped 30.3 percent from a year earlier to ¥7.862 trillion against a backdrop of rising imports of crude oil, while exports climbed 16.7 percent to ¥5.517 trillion with the yen weakening, the ministry said.