Koji Kobayashi Oil Quotations

The wider-than-expected deficit is due to high oil prices, which have now peaked. The growth in the value of imports will not last as we expect crude prices will cool later this year.

Imports on the other hand are up because of rises in oil prices. Still, on a volume basis exports are growing more than imports.

Aside from the effects of high oil prices, growth in imports in general can be interpreted as a sign that domestic demand is robust, another reason to say the Japanese economy is on the right track.