New Delhi, Sept. 16 -- It was the fourth straight month of red ink, according to the Finance Ministry's preliminary data Wednesday.

Resource-poor Japanimports virtually all its oil. Previously that came mostly through the Strait of Hormuz, where traffic has been curtailed due the stalemated Iran war.

Japan's imports in August rose 28% from the same month a year ago to 11.15 trillion yen ($71.9 billion), as the price of oil soared.

Japan's exports rose 19.3% to 10 trillion yen ($64.5 billion), mainly in computer chips and autos.

By nation or region, Japan's exports to the U.S. grew 24.9% from the previous year, while imports from the U.S. rose 55.2%.

Japan's exports to the Middle East declined 5.2%, while imports from that region fell...