Japan posted its first current account deficit in 5 months

Japan posted its first current account deficit in five months in June as rising imports eclipsed exports, data showed on Monday, highlighting the pressure on the economy from high energy and raw material prices.

The world's third-largest economy japan posted a current account deficit of 132.4 billion yen ($980 million) in June, down 872 billion yen from a year earlier, government data showed. It was the first monthly deficit since January, lower than the 703.8 billion yen median forecast of economists polled by Reuters. High prices for energy sources such as oil and coal pushed the value of imports up 49% year-on-year to a record high, outpacing a 20% rise in the value of exports, led by "mineral fuels" and steel. The current account data underscores the shift in Japan's economic structure, with the country's high returns from portfolio investments and direct investments abroad offsetting the deficits in the trade balance. The current account surplus has declined for four consecutive fiscal years through March 2022. While the yen's weakness has raised the cost of imports, its contribution to the value of exports has not been as large as before as exporters continue to shift production overseas.