Â鶹´«Ã½ exports extended double-digit gains for a third straight month in April, but surging global commodity costs inflated the country¡¯s import bill to a record, adding to worries about the rising cost of living.

Shoring up the prospects of a private demand-led recovery, however, was a gauge of capital expenditure that posted its first monthly gain in three months.

The mixed data on Thursday followed the yen¡¯s falls to two-decade lows beyond ?131 to the dollar earlier in May, which stoked fears of worsening terms of trade and added financial burdens for the resource-poor Japanese economy as import costs soar.

A weak yen, once considered a boon to the export-led economy, is now having less of an impact as shipments grow smaller, given the ongoing shift by Japanese manufacturers to offshore production.

Â鶹´«Ã½ exports rose 12.5% in April from a year earlier, Finance Ministry data showed, led by U.S.-bound shipments of cars and undershooting a 13.8% increase expected by economists in a Reuters poll.

It followed a 14.7% rise in March. Imports rose 28.2% in the year to April, versus the median estimate for a 35.0% increase, as a weaker yen helped boost already surging global commodity prices.

¡°Import gains caused by rising crude oil prices and a weak yen mean a transfer of national wealth to oil-producing nations, depriving Japan of purchasing power,¡± said Takeshi Minami, chief economist at Norinchukin Research Institute.

¡°As such, Â鶹´«Ã½ economic recovery depends on coronavirus developments at home and China as the lockdown in Shanghai has disrupted supply-side and consumer activity.¡±

That resulted in a trade deficit of ?839.2 billion ($6.54 billion), narrower than the median estimate for a ?1.150 trillion shortfall but posting a ninth straight month in the red.

Analysts have warned of the risks of prolonged cost-push inflation to the fragile economy with external factors, not domestic demand, pushing import bills higher.

Separate data showed on Thursday Â鶹´«Ã½ core machinery orders rose 7.1% in March from the previous month, versus a 3.7% increase expected by economists in a Reuters poll.

The volatile data series, regarded as a leading gauge of capital expenditure in the coming six to nine months, provided a glimmer of hope for a domestic demand-led recovery.

Â鶹´«Ã½ economy shrank in the January-March period as COVID-19 curbs hit the service sector and surging commodity prices created new pressures.