Japan’s trade gap widens as import costs skyrocket due to supply pressure

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Tokyo — Japan’s exports have expanded

Double-digit increase in April for 3 consecutive months.

Soaring global commodity prices have boosted national imports

Bill the record and add worries about rising costs

life.

Shows the outlook for a private demand-led recovery

But it was a gauge of capital spending that posted it

First monthly profit in 3 months.

Thursday’s mixed data follows the fall of the yen

The lowest price in 20 years against the dollar earlier this month,

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This stirs up the fear of worsening terms of trade and has added

Financial burden of resource-poor Japanese economy

Import costs will rise.

Yen depreciation, once thought to be an export-led benefit

The economy has less impact as shipments are lower

Toward a continuous shift to offshore by Japanese manufacturers

Manufacture.

April Japan’s exports increased 12.5% ​​year-on-year,

Treasury data for the US

Cars, economists are slightly missing out on the expected 13.8% increase

In a Reuters poll. It followed a 14.7% increase in March.

Shipments to China as a disturbing sign of the outlook

It decreased by 5.9% in April, the largest decrease since March 2020.

COVID-19 curb collapses in major cities like Shanghai

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Supply chain and paralyzed economic activity.Import from

China, Japan’s largest trading partner, was also the most depressed

Data have been shown since September 2020.

“Increased imports due to rising crude oil prices and sluggishness

The yen means transferring national wealth to an oil-producing country.

It robs Japan of purchasing power, “said Takeshi Minami, chief.

Economist at Norinchukin Research Institute.

“Thus, Japan’s economic recovery depends on the coronavirus.

Domestic and Chinese development as the Shanghai blockade has

It confused the activities of the supply side and the consumer. ”

Imports increased 28.2% over the median in the year to April

The depreciation of the yen has already risen, so we expect an increase of 35.0%.

Soaring global commodity prices.Imports record 8.9

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It exceeds exports worth trillion yen (69.27 billion dollars) and 8 trillion dollars.

circle.

As a result, the trade deficit was 839.2 billion yen.

Narrower than the estimated median of 1.150 trillion yen

There is a shortage, but it has been in the red for 9 consecutive months.

Analysts warn about the risk of long-term cost push

Inflation into a fragile economy is not an external factor,

Push up domestic demand and import bills.

“If the Zero-COVID policy is expanded, it will be

“It’s a really tough impact,” said Taro Saito, Executive Research Fellow.

Added shipments to China at NLI Laboratories

It accounts for more than one-fifth of Japan’s exports.

Another data on Thursday showed Japan’s core machines

March orders increased 7.1% and 3.7% month-on-month

Increases expected by economists in Reuters polls.

Volatile data series considered to be the main gauge of

Capital spending on the next 6-9 months

Flickering hope for a domestic demand-led recovery.

Japanese economy shrank as COVID-19 in the first quarter

Curbs hit the service sector and commodity prices skyrocket

Created new pressure.

($ 1 = 128.4800 yen)

(Report by Tetsushi Tanaka and Daniel Roythink; Editor

Sam Holmes)