According to the latest economic data, due to the high cost of energy import, the pressure of trade deficit of major economies such as Japan, the euro zone and the United States has also increased.
According to the trade statistics released by Japan's Ministry of Finance on the 17th, due to the high price of imported commodities such as crude oil and the sharp depreciation of the yen, Japan has had a trade deficit for 12 consecutive months. In July, the trade deficit reached 1.44 trillion yen (about 134 yen per dollar), a record high in the same period.
According to the data, the import volume of crude oil, coal and liquefied natural gas in Japan increased by more than 100% in July, driving the substantial increase of import volume in that month. In that month, Japan's import volume increased by 47.2% year-on-year to 10.19 trillion yen, a record high.
Meanwhile, in July, Japan's export volume increased by 19.0% year-on-year to 8.75 trillion yen, maintaining growth for 17 consecutive months. In the same month, the export growth of automobile, mineral fuel, semiconductor manufacturing equipment and other fields was the most prominent.
From the perspective of countries and regions, Japan's exports to China in that month were 1.78 trillion yen, and its exports to the United States and the European Union were 1.58 trillion yen and 842.5 billion yen respectively. China continues to maintain its position as Japan's largest export market.
According to the statistics released by the South Korean customs agency last week, the import volume of South Korea in the first 10 days of August increased by 34.1% year-on-year to US $23.365 billion. Import growth has been higher than export growth for 14 consecutive months. In terms of categories, imports of the three major energy sources (crude oil, natural gas and coal) increased by 74.9% year-on-year, totaling US $6.191 billion.
According to the data released by the European Union statistics agency on the 16th, the euro zone's trade deficit reappeared in June, and the import volume increased due to high energy costs. The import volume increased by 43.5% year-on-year to 276.8 billion euros. Exports also increased, albeit at a lower rate of 20.1% to 252.2 billion euros. According to Eurostat, the euro zone's goods trade deficit in June was 24.6 billion euros, compared with a surplus of 17.2 billion euros in the same period last year. This is the eighth consecutive month that the euro zone has a deficit in goods trade. After adjustment by seasonal factors, the trade deficit in June was 30.8 billion euros, and the trade deficit in May was 27.2 billion euros. In the first six months of this year, the EU's energy trade deficit increased to 290.8 billion euros, compared with 105.6 billion euros in the same period last year, indicating that the Ukraine crisis has intensified the pressure on EU energy costs.
According to the latest trade data of the United States, the trade deficit of goods and services in June was US $79.6 billion. Although it was the first time since December 2021 that the deficit was less than US $80 billion, it was still at a high level.
