Abe’s weak yen fails to trim down Japanese trade deficit
JAPAN’S trade deficit is still growing at around the same pace as before its central bank embarked on an enormous expansion of the monetary base, according to official figures published yesterday.
The country’s merchandise trade deficit came in at ¥1.3 trillion (£7.7bn) in December, twice as wide as it was in the same month of 2012.
To date, so-called Abenomics – named after the Prime Minister’s policies – has failed to address the deterioration in the country’s balance of trade.
However, Societe Generale’s chief Asia-Pacific economist, Klaus Baader, maintains that the trade deficit will begin to shrink again later this year. Baader says that a combination of soft commodity prices and stronger US and EU demand are likely to help Japan’s exporters.