DECRYPTION – The energy bill and the weakness of the yen have caused a surge in imports.
Sad record: Japan experienced in 2022 the worst trade deficit in its history, at 20 trillion yen (143.7 billion euros), announced its Ministry of Finance. Exports from the Archipelago, although up sharply (+ 18%), at 98.2 trillion yen, did not offset imports, at 118.5 trillion (+ 39%).
The reasons for such a poor performance were underlined ad nauseam in the local press: the rise in energy and raw materials prices, combined with the anemia of the Japanese currency, caused the energy bill of the third economy to explode of the world. The prices of gas and oil, for example, have doubled in one year, while the yen has reached an all-time low in thirty-two years, observes the Nikkei. On an annual average, a dollar was worth 130.7 yen in 2022, compared to 109.4 yen in 2021.
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