- Japan's H1 trade deficit reached 2.81 trillion yen ($17.8 billion) for the April-September period, per preliminary Finance Ministry data released Wednesday.
- Imports rose 20.4% year-over-year to 66.3 trillion yen, while exports grew 18.4% to 63.5 trillion yen.
- The war in Iran drove oil import prices higher, widening the trade gap to a record.