Tokyoآ , August 20 (QNA) - Japan logged a trade deficit of 634.5 billion yen, or about $4 billion, in July.
The country's imports jumped 27.8 percent from a year earlier to 12.15 trillion yen ($76.39 billion), marking a record high for the second consecutive month, data from the Japan's Ministry of Finance showed.
The surge in imports was driven by rising energy and commodity prices, fueled by tensions in the Middle East and disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Crude oil imports rose 5.5 percent year-on-year, driven by increased reliance on US supplies, marking their first increase in four months, while their total value surged 87.8 percent.
Conversely, Japanese exports surged 23.2 percent year-on-year to a record 11.5 trillion yen, exceeding the market consensus forecast of 19.9 percent, following a 19.3 percent increase in June.
The data attributed the export growth to strong demand for semiconductor products, driven in particular by investments related to artificial intelligence data centers, along with the effect of the depreciating yen in enhancing the competitiveness of Japanese products in foreign markets. (QNA)