General

The latest economic data shows that due to the high cost of energy imports, major economies such as Japan, the euro zone, and the United States have also increased pressure on their trade deficits.

According to the trade statistics released by Japan on the 17th, due to the high prices of imported commodities such as crude oil and the sharp depreciation of the yen, Japan has experienced a trade deficit for 12 consecutive months. ), a record high for the same period.

Data show that in July, Japan's imports of crude oil, coal, and liquefied natural gas all increased by more than 100%, driving a substantial increase in the month's imports. In that month, Japan's imports increased by 47.2% year-on-year to 10.19 trillion yen, a record high.

At the same time, Japan's exports in July increased by 19.0% year-on-year to 8.75 trillion yen, maintaining growth for 17 consecutive months. Exports in areas such as automobiles, fossil fuels, and semiconductor manufacturing equipment increased the most in the month.

From the perspective of countries and regions, Japan's exports to China in the month were 1.78 trillion yen, and exports to the United States and the European Union were 1.58 trillion yen and 842.5 billion yen, respectively. China continued to maintain its position as Japan's largest export market.

According to statistics released by the Korea Customs Service last week, South Korea's imports 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 data released by the European Union's statistical agency on the 16th, the euro zone returned to a trade deficit in June, and imports rose due to high energy costs. Imports rose 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. Eurostat said the euro zone's trade deficit in goods in June was 24.6 billion euros, compared with a surplus of 17.2 billion euros a year earlier. This is the eighth month in a row that the euro zone has run a trade deficit in goods. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the trade deficit was 30.8 billion euros in June and 27.2 billion euros in May. 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 exacerbated the pressure on EU energy costs.

The latest U.S. trade data showed that the trade deficit in goods and services was $79.6 billion in June. Although it was the first time since December 2021 that the deficit was below $80 billion, it was still high.