Japan’s trade balance fell back into the red in July with a deficit of 78.7 billion yen ($538 million) as exports dropped for the first time in over two years, government data showed Thursday.

Exports dipped 0.3% from a year earlier to 8.73 trillion yen as a rise in auto shipments failed to offset declines among other products like semiconductor-related equipment. Imports, meanwhile, fell 13.5% to 8.8 trillion yen, according to the Finance Ministry.

The year-on-year fall in exports, the first since February 2021, cast a cloud over the outlook for the Japanese economy, which marked its fastest pace of growth since 2020 in the quarter to June, Kyodo News Agency reported.

The latest figures came a month after Japan reported its first trade surplus in nearly two years, though concerns persist about the impact of aggressive monetary tightening in the United States and Europe, and slowing growth in China.

Source: Qatar News Agency