Japan posted a merchandise trade deficit of 520.27 billion yen in April, the Ministry of Finance said on Wednesday - falling into the red for the sixth time in seven months.
The headline figure missed forecasts for a shortfall of 470.8 billion yen following the downwardly revised deficit of 84.5 billion yen in March.
Exports were up 7.9 percent on year to 5.566 trillion yen, below expectations for an increase of 11.8 percent following the 5.9 percent increase in the previous month. It also marked the second straight monthly gain following five consecutive months of loss.
Exports to all of Asia fell 2.6 percent on year to 3.022 trillion yen, while exports to China alone dropped an annual 7.1 percent to 995.395 billion yen.
Exports to the United States surged 42.9 percent on year to 958.923 billion yen, while exports to the European Union declined an annual 1.9 percent to 583.150 billion yen.
Imports added an annual 8.0 percent to 6.086 trillion yen, rising for the 28th consecutive month. That compares to forecasts for a gain of 10.1 percent following the revised 10.6 percent gain a month earlier.
Imports from Asia added 1.8 percent on year to 2.551 trillion yen, while imports from China alone added an annual 7.5 percent to 1.269 trillion yen.
Imports from the United States were up 4.4 percent on year to 533.087 billion yen, while imports from the European Union were down 4.2 percent to 521.716 billion yen.
The adjusted trade deficit came in at 480.2 billion yen, topping forecasts for a shortfall of 617.2 billion yen following the revised 616.6 billion yen deficit in March.
Upon the release of the data, the Japanese yen showed little changes against major currencies, trading near 80.05 against the U.S. dollar, 101.32 versus the euro, 84.38 against the Swiss franc and 126.09 versus the British pound.
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