Japan logs trade deficit for 17th straight month in November

Japan posted a trade deficit of 1.29 trillion yen in November, the 17th-consecutive monthly loss, the Japanese Ministry of Finance said Wednesday.

Imports surged 21.1 percent to 7.19 trillion yen in November from the same month of last year, while exports soared 18.4 percent to 5.90 trillion yen over the cited period, the ministry said.

The country's cumulative trade deficit in the first 11 months of this year amounted to 10.16 trillion yen, according to the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper.

Japan’s trade deficit stood at 6.94 trillion yen for the whole of 2012.

Park Sae-jin swatchsjp@ajunews.com