Per Bloomberg

Japan has recently experienced the effect of softening commodity prices as it has experienced the first time its imports have fallen. This came as the country's imports found a 2.3% decrease from a year earlier in April.

The Finance Ministry recently reported that crude oil and liquid natural gas shipments declined, which resulted in a decrease in imports. The last time Japan saw a declined import rate was in January 2021, when it saw a drop of 0.6%.

As the country saw a decline in imports, it saw an increase in exports, which were up by 2.6% compared to a year ago. Japan saw this increase mainly because of car shipments being exported, which was close to the expectations of analysts.

Norinchukin Research Institute chief economist Takeshi Minami gave a statement regarding the situation and about Japan's economy. The chief economist shared how the changes weren't because of a weakening "domestic demand."

Minami: "Imports dropped largely due to a drop in raw material costs... Japan’s economy is holding up so far, so that’s not an indication of domestic demand weakening... Central banks from the Fed to the ECB are coming closer to a terminal interest rate but it’s likely the rates will stay high,”

Japan has recently bought Russian oil above the $60-a-barrel cap, which would break with US allies. The county was able to get an agreed exception from the US, saying that it still needed to ensure access to Russian energy.

In the first two months of 2023, it was reported that Japan bought about 748,000 barrels of Russian oil for a total of ¥6.9 billion.

In February, Fumio Kishida, the Prime Minister of Japan, announced that the country would be extending financial aid to Ukraine worth $5.5 billion. This announcement happened during the G-7 summit, where Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, was present.

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