Imports dropped 1.7 percent in November from the year before to ¥7.08 trillion, declining for the first time in three months as crude oil prices plunged across the globe, government data showed Wednesday.
The balance in goods trade remained in the red for the 29th straight month, the longest period since officials began compiling comparable data in January 1979, but the deficit shrank 31.5 percent year on year to ¥891.9 billion, the Finance Ministry said in a preliminary report.
While imports fell, due largely to a 21.6 percent plunge in crude oil imports, exports rose for the third straight month, up 4.9 percent to ¥6.19 trillion, on the back of the yen's recent sharp depreciation, the ministry said.