Japan Has Y833.388 Billion Trade Deficit

TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - Japan had a merchandise trade deficit of 833.388 billion yen in May, the Ministry of Finance said on Wednesday.

That beat forecasts for a shortfall of 970.8 billion yen following the 930 billion yen deficit in April.

Exports were down 28.3 percent on year, badly missing expectations for a decline of 17.9 percent following the 21.9 percent drop in the previous month.

Imports tumbled an annual 26.2 percent versus expectations for a fall of 15 percent after sinking 7.2 percent a month earlier.

Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX