Japan books trade deficit of 6.3 bln USD in August

TOKYO, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Japan booked a trade deficit in August amid drops in both exports and imports, the government said in a report on Wednesday.

According to the Finance Ministry, the country's trade deficit stood at 930.5 billion yen (6.3 billion U.S. dollars) in the recording period, as exports continued to shrink, falling by 0.8 percent to 7.99 trillion yen.

The ministry attributed the decline for the second consecutive month to multiple factors including shrinking overseas demand, and the reduction in exports of mineral fuels, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and organic compounds.

Meanwhile, imports declined for the fifth consecutive month to 8.92 trillion yen, down 17.8 percent year on year, the ministry's preliminary data showed.

This was mostly due to declining imports of coal, liquefied natural gas and crude oil amid lower international energy prices.

In August, Japan's exports to the United States and the European Union (EU) continued to increase, while exports to other Asian countries and regions continued to decrease on a yearly basis, the report showed.

Analysts here predicted that the country's trade deficit may expand further in the future, given the current rise in international energy prices and the weak yen. (1 Japanese yen equals 0.0068 U.S. dollars)