High energy costs are putting pressure on many countries' trade deficits

According to the Economic Information Daily on August 18, the high cost of energy imports has increased the pressure of trade deficits in Japan, the euro zone, and the United States.

As reported by the Ministry of Finance of Japan, due to the high price of imported commodities such as crude oil and the sharp depreciation of the Japanese yen, Japan has had a trade deficit for 12 consecutive months. The trade deficit in July reached 1.44 trillion yen, a record high. More than 100% of the increase in crude oil, coal, and liquefied natural gas imports can be attributed to these factors. In the first 10 days of August, the Republic of Korea's import volume increased 34.1% year-over-year to US $23.365 billion, according to statistical data released by the Republic of Korea's customs office.

For 14 consecutive months, the import growth rate outpaced the export growth rate. Crude oil, natural gas, and coal imports increased by 74.9% year-over-year, totaling $6.191 billion. In June, the euro zone's trade deficit reappeared for the eighth consecutive month, according to data released by the European Union statistics agency. As a result of high energy costs, import volume increased by 43.5% year-over-year to 276.8 billion euros. American trade data show that the trade deficit of goods and services in June was $79.6 billion. This was the first time since December 2021 that the deficit was less than US $80 billion, but it was still high.