Tokyo, February 18 (QNA) - Japan logged a trade deficit of 7.5 billion USD in January, its first red ink in three months, Japanese government data showed Wednesday, with higher US tariffs weighing on auto and other exports to the world's largest economy.

Overall exports rose 16.8 percent from a year earlier to 9.19 trillion yen, up for the fifth straight month, on solid demand for semiconductors and other electronic parts in the rest of Asia, including China, the Japanese Finance Ministry said in a preliminary report, according to (Kyodo) news.

Meanwhile, imports decreased 2.5 percent to 10.34 trillion yen on lower shipments of liquefied natural gas from Malaysia and crude oil from the Middle East, the ministry said.

Japan's exports to the United States fell 5.0 percent to 1.46 trillion yen, reflecting a decline in car shipments in value terms and sluggish demand for pharmaceuticals. A trade surplus of 367 billion yen was recorded with the United States, down 23.0 percent from the previous year, as imports rose 3.0 percent to 1.10 trillion yen.

With China, Japan remained in the red for the 58th straight month, logging a deficit of 1.08 trillion yen in January. (QNA)