Japan books record trade deficit of $26 bn in January

Tokyo, Feb 16

Japan booked a record trade deficit in January owing to rising energy costs and the pace of exports slowing, the government said in a report on Thursday.

According to the Finance Ministry, the country's trade deficit in January stood at 3.5 trillion yen (26.16 billion US dollars) and marked an 18th straight month of red ink, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Imports jumped 17.8 percent to 10.05 trillion yen (75.13 billion dollars) in the recording period, the ministry said, while exports were up 3.5 percent to 6.55 trillion yen (48.96 billion dollars).

With the US, it booked a slight surplus of 280.7 billion yen (2.09 billion dollars), the ministry said.