Japan posted a trade deficit of 406.9 billion yen in June, reversing a surplus from the previous year as imports rose faster than exports due to higher oil prices and a weaker yen.
The Ministry of Finance reported the June trade gap on Wednesday. Exports climbed 19 percent from a year earlier to 10.9 trillion yen, while imports jumped 25 percent to 11.3 trillion yen.
The yen traded near 163 to the dollar, compared with about 140 a year earlier. This shift raised the yen value of dollar-priced imports such as oil.
From January to June, exports reached 60.6 trillion yen and imports reached 61.9 trillion yen, resulting in a cumulative deficit of nearly one trillion yen.
