Japan Trade Deficit Narrows Sharply From Record as Imports Slow
- End of lunar new year holidays reversed January’s trade impact
- Trade deficit narrows to smallest level in 10 months
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Japan’s trade deficit narrowed sharply in February from the previous month’s record shortfall, as the impact from the lunar new year in China reversed, slowing imports and encouraging exports.
The trade gap shrank to 897.7 billion yen ($6.8 billion) from 3.5 trillion yen in January, the finance ministry reported Thursday, coming in below analyst forecasts. Imports rose 8.3% from a year ago, decelerating from the previous month on a slowdown in energy shipments. Exports climbed 6.5% as cars pushed up gains.