Dive in Japan's trade deficit may thwart efforts to stem yen rise

Tokyo

JAPAN'S trade deficit with the outside world shrank dramatically last year, as imports fell back and exports rose, official data released on Monday showed.

The deficit for 2015 plunged by 78 per cent to 2.83 trillion yen (S$34.17 billion) from 2014, with import values slumping mainly on the back of falls in international oil prices, while exports rose by 3.5 per cent, said the Ministry of Finance.