Japan posts record fiscal-year trade deficit

TOKYO: Japan on Thursday posted a record trade deficit for the 2011 fiscal year with car and electronics exports tumbling, while energy imports soared in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear crisis.

The 2011 fiscal-year deficit hit 4.410 trillion yen ($54.2 billion), according to the finance ministry, the worst figure on record amid continuing worries about Japan's economy, the world's third largest.

For the year ended March, Japanese exports fell 3.7 percent to 65.282 trillion yen while imports soared 11.6 percent to 69.692 trillion yen, as worries mount that Japan will face energy shortages this summer after all but one of its nuclear reactors were shut down following the disaster.

Exports of electronics fell 14.7 percent, followed by a 5.4 percent fall in vehicle shipments, with last year's massive earthquake and tsunami disrupting manufacturers' supply chains and hampering exports.

In the same period, crude oil imports rose 21.9 percent while liquefied natural gas orders shot up 52.2 percent as the country struggles to find alternative energy sources.

Also Thursday, the data showed thatJapanposted a smaller-than-expected trade deficit of 82.6 billion yen in March, well below economists' expectations for a deficit above 200.0 billion yen.

A finance ministry official warned, however, that the strong yen was still weighing on exports.

And analysts expressed little optimism over the smaller-than-forecast trade shortfall, which came afterJapanposted a surprise surplus in February.

The data "have yet to show confidence in a trend that (Japan's exports) are clearly emerging from sluggishness," SMBC Nikko Securities chief market economist Mari Iwashita told Dow Jones Newswires.

While exports to theUnited Stateswere strong in February and March, weakness in shipments toAsiaandEuropesuggested that the global economy's recovery may not be on a solid footing, she said, amid continuing worries overEurope's debt crisis.

For decades,Japanenjoyed huge trade surpluses owing to its competitive cars, electronics and other exports.

But the country is resource-poor and its energy imports have soared in the wake of the nuclear crisis with atomic power stations taken offline and fossil fuel plants used to make up the difference.

While the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami hurt exports, floods in manufacturing plants inThailandhad a similar effect later in the year.