Dollar slides against yen as Japanese trade deficit hits record

The
dollar has slipped against the yen in foreign exchange trading
this morning (February 20th), as the Japanese trade deficit hit a
record last month.

Official data shows that exports rose in January – which is the
first increase in eight months – as products made in the country
became more affordable to foreign buyers, while the nation’s
currency continued to weaken.

However, the depreciation of the yen also pushed up Japan’s import
bill leading to a monthly trade deficit of 1.6 trillion yen (£11.1
billion) – which is a ten per cent year-on-year jump.

The yen has dipped by nearly 15 per cent against the US dollar
since November 2012, with the weakness of the currency boosting
profits when firms repatriate their foreign incomes at home, giving
them a larger stack of earnings to invest at the end of the
financial year.

At 08:30 GMT today, the dollar fell by 0.2 per cent against the
Japanese yen to 93.398 JPY.