Japan logs $9.5 billion trade deficit in September

Japan posted a record trade deficit of 932.1 billion yen (US$9.5 billion) in September, the 15th-consecutive monthly loss, the Japanese government reported on Monday.

The figure represents a sharp rise from a trade deficit of 568.2 billion yen tallied in the same month of last year.

Analysts attributed the increase to a weaker yen, record imports from China and an increase of petroleum imports from the Middle East due to a halt of nuclear reactors' operations.

Imports soared 16.5 percent to 6,904.2 billion won in September from a year earlier, while exports grew 11.5 percent to 5,972.1, according to the Ministry of Finance.

The country's cumulative trade deficit in the April-September period reached a record first half high of 4,989.2 billion yen, up 54.2 percent from the corresponding period last year. In Japan, the fiscal year starts on April 1.