Japan registered a trade deficit of JPY 582.36 billion in December 2021, compared with market consensus of a JPY 784.1 billion gap and shifting from a surplus of JPY 780.28 billion in the same month in the prior year. The latest figure marked the fifth straight month of trade deficit, amid the rapid spread of the Omicron strain of COVID-19 globally.
Exports grew by 17.5 percent year-on-year to JPY 7,881.43 billion while imports jumped 41.1 percent to a new high of JPY 8,463.79 billion. For full year, the trade gap was at JPY 1,472.16 billion with exports rising 21.5 percent and imports expanding at a faster 24.3 percent, compared with a surplus of JPY 388.29 billion in 2020.
