TOKYO – Japan raised its official assessment of imports for first time in nine months, the government’s monthly economic report showed on Tuesday, as the yen’s double-digit depreciation from a year earlier puffed up the value of imported goods.
While the report maintained the overview of the economy that it was on a moderate recovery, it recognized rising bankruptcies and maintained a warning against global financial volatility it added last month in response to Western bank collapses.
The report, crafted by the Cabinet Office, said Japan’s imports are generally staying flat, modifying a previous expression that they were weak, after shipments from the United States and Asia rebounded from a February dip.
Trade data out last week showed the hefty cost of coal and oil products, coupled with the yen’s 16.5 percent slump from a year before, increased imports by 7.3 percent in March, helping bring Japan’s trade deficit for fiscal 2022 to a record high. – Reuters
