TRADE

Japan Posts Trade Deficit during Part of April: Japan posted a trade deficit of $292.6 million in the first 20 days of April, the Finance Ministry said. Economists were somewhat surprised by the number, but they said it simply confirmed the shrinking trend of Japan’s trade gap. In yen terms, Japan’s trade surplus has contracted year-on-year for 16 months through March. Officials said they couldn’t project whether Japan would report a trade deficit for the full month of April. Japan hasn’t posted a deficit for an entire month since January 1984. Imports jumped 30.4%, boosted by purchases of meat after a tariff cut went into effect on April 1.