- Merrill Lynch
Japan logged a trade deficit for a fifth consecutive year in 2015, after the country slipped into deficits following the 2011 nuclear accident in Fukushima, which led to closures of reactors and pushed up imports of oil and gas. Yet, the trade gap shrank 78% over 2014, falling to the lowest level in four years, according to the Finance Ministry, as lower oil prices pushed down import costs, while a weaker Yen spurred exports. Imports plunged 8.7% in 2015 from a year earlier, while exports rose 3.5%. Last year, the world's third biggest economy's trade shortfall was 2.8 trillion yen, compared with a massive 12.8 trillion yen in 2014. Furthermore, Japan's merchandise trade balance swung into surplus in December, as oil prices plunged, while the Japanese Yen rose versus other currencies. The December trade surplus came in at 140.2 billion yen, compared with a deficit of 379.7 billion yen in the preceding month and a deficit of 665.6 billion yen in December 2014.
However, Japan's exports have been falling amid a slowdown in China's economy. After surging an annual 7.9% in January-June period, exports climbed a modest 0.6% in July-December. Exports to China dropped 1.1% in 2015, whereas exports to the US surged 11.5%, making the US the top destination for Japan-made goods. At the same time, Japan's imports of crude oil, gas and other fuels plummeted 34% in 2015.
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