TOKYO, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- Japan booked a goods trade deficit in November owing to sluggish exports and imports hit by a consumption tax hike on Oct. 1, the government said in a report on Wednesday.
According to the Finance Ministry, the nation's trade deficit stood at 82.08 billion yen (749.9 million U.S. dollars) in the recording period, with the latest figure coming on the heels of a revised surplus of 15.66 billion yen logged in October.
The ministry's preliminary figures showed that exports dropped by 7.9 percent from a year earlier to 6.38 trillion yen, marking the 12th successive month of decline, while imports fell 15.7 percent to 6.46 trillion yen, marking a seventh straight month of decline.
While exports were hit by falling demand amid a global economic downturn, imports were impacted by a drop in demand triggered by a consumption tax hike here in October from 8 to 10 percent, local economists highlighted.
On a regional basis, exports to China, Japan's biggest trading partner, retreated 5.4 percent to 1.31 trillion yen in the recording period, while imports fell 16.4 percent to 1.58 trillion yen, resulting in a deficit of 268.02 billion yen, the ministry said.
With the United States, Japan's trade surplus declined 16.1 percent from a year earlier to 523.21 billion yen, marking a third straight month of decline, as demand for vehicles and construction machinery waned, the ministry's data showed.
Japan logged a trade deficit of 145.75 billion yen with the European Union, the ministry said, marking a fifth consecutive monthly drop. (1 U.S. dollar equals 109 Japanese yen)
