Japan trade deficit driven wider by weak yen

Limited growth: A container ship is seen being loaded at the port of Kawasaki near Tokyo. October imports grew at the fastest pace of 53.5% since 1980 as the yen inflated already elevated commodity prices, while exports gained 25.3%. — AP

TOKYO: Japan’s trade deficit widened in October, as the country’s import bill continued to rocket upward, fuelled by a historic slide in the yen that has already helped push the economy back into reverse.

The trade gap grew to 2.16 trillion yen (RM70.8bil) from 2.09 trillion yen (RM68.25bil), the finance ministry reported.