Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. Earth Science News .




TRADE WARS
Japan logs record trade deficit in 2012
by Staff Writers
Tokyo (AFP) Jan 24, 2013


Japan on Thursday logged a record trade deficit for 2012 as exports were hit by a bitter diplomatic spat with its biggest market China and plunging demand in debt-wracked Europe.

The gloomy numbers spell more bad news for the world's third-largest economy as it struggles to cement a recovery after the 2011 quake-tsunami -- the worst nuclear crisis in a generation -- and the impact of an export-sapping strong yen.

They also underscore the size of the task ahead for the new government of Shinzo Abe, who won last month's election on a pledge to boost the economy with big public spending and by pressuring the central bank for a more aggressive monetary policy.

Official figures from the finance ministry showed Japan's trade shortfall last year totalled 6.92 trillion yen ($78 billion), with the deficit in December alone standing at a higher-than-expected 641.5 billion yen.

The data marked a second consecutive annual trade deficit for the export-reliant economy.

Last year, exports totalled 63.7 trillion yen against imports of 70.7 trillion yen, with post-Fukushima energy imports of expensive fossil fuels surging as all but two of Japan's 50 nuclear reactors remain closed.

But analysts said the 2012 figures may mark a low point for Japan's trade picture as the global economy stages a recovery with China and other Asian economies leading the pack, while the US economy also improves.

"The figures will likely be better in 2013 as overseas economies improve," said Masahiko Hashimoto, an economist at Daiwa Institute of Research in Tokyo, adding that the impact of a territorial feud with China would probably fade.

"The European economy may continue to worsen until the middle of the year but China and other Asian economies are likely to lead the global economy."

However, he said the deficit would likely remain for the short term as a weakening yen makes overseas energy imports pricier, Hashimoto said.

"But I believe exports will eventually pick up. (The weaker yen) will be a positive for the economy in the long term," he added.

While Japan ran a 2012 trade surplus with the United States, it recorded an annual deficit of 139.7 billion yen with the European Union, its first as the continent's sovereign debt crisis crippled demand for everything from Japanese televisions to cars.

The deficit with Beijing doubled to a record 3.52 trillion yen, as a feud over a set of islands in the East China Sea spurred a consumer boycott of Japanese goods in China.

The dispute flared in September after Tokyo nationalised the Senkakus, which Beijing refers to as the Diaoyu islands.

On Tuesday, the Bank of Japan, following government pressure, adopted a two percent inflation target to beat the deflation that has haunted the economy for years and also set out plans for indefinite monetary easing.

Markets have cheered Abe's strong stand. The Nikkei 225 stock index has soared in the past couple of months, while speculation of monetary easing has sent the yen falling.

That is good news for Japan's exporters, who have complained about the unit's soaring value since it hit a record around the 75-level against the dollar in late 2011. A high yen makes Japanese products less competitive overseas.

The dollar bought 89.32 yen in Tokyo forex trade Thursday.

Japan's economy contracted in the July-September quarter and slipped slightly in the previous three months, meeting the technical definition of a recession.

.


Related Links
Global Trade News






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








TRADE WARS
China manufacturing growth hits two-year high
Beijing (AFP) Jan 24, 2013
China's manufacturing activity expanded in January at its fastest pace in two years, HSBC said Thursday, the latest sign of recovery in the world's second biggest economy. The British banking giant's preliminary purchasing managers' index (PMI) reached 51.9 for this month, up from a final 51.5 in December. The January figure is the highest for 24 months. The index, compiled by informatio ... read more


TRADE WARS
Canada to resettle up to 5,000 Iranian, Iraqi refugees

China factory fire hidden by thick smog: media

Allianz sticks to profit goal despite Hurricane Sandy hit

Hannover Re hit by 261-million-euro loss from Sandy

TRADE WARS
Novel sensor provides bigger picture

Dutch architect to build house with 3D printer

Researchers move Barkhausen Effect forward

Computer breakthrough: Code of life becomes databank

TRADE WARS
Water restored in Chile capital after day-long cut

Water shut off to Chilean capital: official

Cotton with special coating collects water from fogs in desert

Antibacterial agent used in common soaps found in increasing amounts in freshwater lakes

TRADE WARS
Chile expands Antarctica presence

Unprecedented glacier melting in the Andes blamed on climate change

Penguin head-cam captures bird's eye view of hunt

Melt ponds cause the Artic sea ice to melt more rapidly

TRADE WARS
Bacterial supplement could help young pigs fight disease

USDA Studies Confirm Plant Water Demands Shift with Water Availability

First Global Assessment of Land and Water 'Grabbing'

Cotton could be desert water source

TRADE WARS
Massive earthquakes came as surprise

A new type of volcanic eruption

Mass evacuations under way in flood-hit Mozambique

Mozambique begins evacuating 55,000 people hit by floods

TRADE WARS
Eritrean troops besiege mutineers in Asmara

Mugabe calls for peace as VP Nkomo buried

Hollande, in Gulf, defends France's Mali offensive

French marines in Mali wait for orders to join the fight

TRADE WARS
A relative from the Tianyuan Cave

Four-stranded 'quadruple helix' DNA structure proven to exist in human cells

Geneticist wants to revive Neanderthals

DNA database not so anonymous on the Internet: study




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement