Japan posted a merchandise trade deficit of 930.477 billion yen in August, the Ministry of Finance said on Wednesday.
That was well shy of expectations for a shortfall of 659.1 billion yen following the upwardly revised 66.3 billion yen deficit in July (originally -78.7 billion yen).
Exports were down 0.8 percent on year at 7.994 trillion yen, beating forecasts for a decline of 1.7 percent following the 0.3 percent drop in the previous month.
Imports slumped an annual 17.8 percent to 8.924 trillion yen versus expectations for a fall of 19.4 percent following the downwardly revised 13.6 percent contraction a month earlier (originally -13.5 percent).
