Japan’s trade deficit narrows 85.5% YoY in Nov. ’24

Japan’s trade deficit narrowed significantly in November, shrinking by 85.5 per cent year-on-year to 117.62 billion yen ($765 million), marking a substantial improvement from the previous year.

While the country remained in a trade deficit for the fifth consecutive month, exports surged 3.8 per cent to 9.15 trillion yen, marking the second consecutive month of growth, data from the Ministry of Finance showed on Wednesday.

Key contributors to this export growth included strong demand for semiconductor-making equipment shipped to Taiwan and non-ferrous metals exported to China, the Finance Ministry reported.

Conversely, imports fell by 3.8 per cent year-on-year to 9.27 trillion yen, the first decline in eight months. This was due to lower demand for crude oil from Saudi Arabia and a slowdown in electronics parts imports from Taiwan.

Japan maintained a trade surplus with the United States, although it narrowed 17.2 per cent to 664.03 billion yen. Exports to the US fell 8.0 per cent to 1.67 trillion yen, while imports edged down 0.6 per cent to 1.01 trillion yen.

The trade deficit with China widened slightly, increasing 4.2 per cent to 682.00 billion yen. Exports to China rose by 4.1 per cent to 1.66 trillion yen, while imports increased by 4.2 per cent to 2.34 trillion yen.

Attribution: Ministry of Finance, The Mainichi
Subediting: M. S. Salama