Japan logs 2nd largest current account deficit on record in Jan.

TOKYO. KAZINFORM - Japan logged a current account deficit of 1.2 trillion yen ($10.3 billion) in January, the second largest on record since comparable data became available in January 1985, due to surging fuel costs, the Finance Ministry said Tuesday, Kyodo reports.

The country's current account balance, one of the widest gauges of international trade, remained in the red for the second consecutive month. The deficit was the largest since January 2014, according to a preliminary report released by the Finance Ministry.

With resource-poor Japan relying heavily on energy imports, rises in energy prices sparked by the global economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic led to a goods trade deficit of 1.60 trillion yen.

Imports expanded 39.9 percent from a year earlier, up for the 12th month in a row, to 8.17 trillion yen. Purchases of crude oil jumped 84.6 percent while those of coal spiked 167.4 percent on year.

Exports increased 15.2 percent to 6.56 trillion yen, rising for the 11th straight month, buoyed by shipments of iron and steel, light oil and semiconductors.

Services trade, which includes cargo shipping and passenger transportation, logged a deficit of 737.9 billion yen, partly as Japanese companies' online advertising fees paid to foreign companies increased, a government official said.

The travel balance posted a 12.3 billion yen surplus, slightly down from 21.1 billion yen logged a year earlier, as 75,000 people traveled from Japan while only 17,800 people visited the country.

The Japanese government enforced an entry ban on nonresident foreign nationals in late November as the world grappled with the spread of the highly transmissible Omicron coronavirus variant.

Primary income, which reflects returns on overseas investments, posted a surplus of 1.29 trillion yen, down 13.1 billion yen from a year earlier, as more dividends were paid to foreign investors.