Japan logs record red ink in Jan. on energy, slower export growth

Japan posted a record current account deficit of 1.98 trillion yen ($14 billion) in January, hurt by swelling import costs that caused the resource-poor nation to register its largest-ever trade deficit, the Finance Ministry said Wednesday.Growth in exports was far slower than that of imports, partly because Japanese firms curbed China-bound shipments due to the Lunar New Year holidays there that came earlier than usual. This translated into a whopping 3.18 trillion yen trade deficit, double the year-earlier figure.The current account, one of the widest gauges of international trade, fell i…READ FULL ARTICLE