Japan records trade surplus of $6.51 billion in 2020

Tokyo, Jan 21 (efe-epa).- Japan recorded a trade surplus of 674.73 billion yen ($6.51 billion) in 2020, the Japanese government announced on Thursday.

The positive balance contrasts with the deficit of 1.67 trillion yen the country recorded in 2019 and is a 36.2 percent jump over the figure posted in 2018, according to data published by the finance ministry.

Japanese exports fell by 11.1 percent year-on-year in 2020 – the sharpest decline in the last 11 years – to 68.4 trillion yen.

Meanwhile, imports also fell by 13.8 percent compared to 2019, to 67.7 trillion yen.

By country, with its largest trading partner China, Japan registered a trade deficit of 2.39 trillion yen, which is 36.5 percent less than a year earlier.

With the world’s biggest economy and its second-largest trading partner, the United States, the Asian country recorded a surplus of 5.19 trillion yen, a year-on-year decrease of 21.6 percent.

With the European Union, its third-biggest trading partner, Japan recorded a deficit of 1.33 trillion yen, 1.5 percent less than that posted in 2019.

The Asian country widened its trade deficit with Brazil by 5.1 percent to 485.55 billion yen and by 18.2 percent with Chile to 593.5 billion yen.

Japan posted a surplus of 315.13 billion yen with Mexico, a reduction of 38.7 percent year-on-year.

The finance ministry also published data for December 2020, when Japan recorded a positive balance of 751.01 billion yen.

In the last month of 2020 alone, Japanese exports fell by 11.6 percent to 5.95 trillion yen while imports increased by 2 percent to 6.7 trillion yen. EFE-EPA

mra/pd/tw