Japan’s trade gap extended its streak of red ink in September — the longest since 2015 — as the weaker yen pushed up the import bill, an outcome that will weigh on the economy and feed back into further currency weakness.
The trade deficit topped ¥2 trillion for a second-straight month, though it narrowed to ¥2.09 trillion from the previous month’s record ¥2.82 trillion shortfall. The result compared with economists’ forecast for a ¥2.15 trillion gap.
Imports rose 45.9%, a touch stronger than expected by analysts, as the cost of crude, coal and LNG purchases soared from a year earlier. Exports gained 28.9%, led by automobile and chip parts. Analysts had penciled in a 26.6% increase.