Japan monthly trade deficit hits record

Japan’s trade deficit widened to a record in January as energy imports rose more than expected, highlighting one of the risks of seeking to revive the country’s export engine through pursuing policies that could weaken the currency.

The trade deficit reached a record 1.6 trillion yen (HK$132.6 billion), larger than a median forecast for a 1.38 trillion yen deficit.

The data comes as new Prime Minister Shinzo Abe works on plans to combine aggressive monetary policy easing with fiscal stimulus to shift the economy into a higher gear and end nearly 20 years of mild deflation.

via Business feed http://www.scmp.com/business/economy/article/1154553/japan-monthly-trade-deficit-hits-record