Japan’s Trade Deficit Doubles as Hormuz Crisis Hikes Energy Import Costs

AI Summary

Japan’s trade deficit nearly doubled to $17.8 billion in April–September as costs for imported energy surged during the Iran war and disruption to oil and LNG supplies through the Strait of Hormuz. Exports rose 18.4%, but imports increased faster, by 20.4%.

Japan booked a trade deficit of $17.8 billion (2.82 trillion Japanese yen) for April to September, almost double the deficit from a year earlier, government data showed on Wednesday, as the Middle East crisis made energy imports into the resource-poor G7 economy much more expensive. Between April and September, the period right after the Iran war began and choked oil and LNG supply at the Strait of Hormuz, the value of Japan’s exports rose by 18.4% while the value of imports jumped by 20.4%, according to the Finance Ministry’s provisional…