Japan’s exports rose the most since 2010 in August, boosting Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s growth drive even as rising energy costs extended the streak of trade deficits to the longest since 1980.

Exports rose 14.7 percent from a year earlier, the sixth straight increase, the Ministry of Finance said in Tokyo Thursday. Imports climbed 16 percent, leaving an unadjusted trade shortfall of 960.3 billion yen ($9.8 billion).

The yen’s 12 percent slide against the dollar this year and a pick-up in overseas markets has supported export growth, boosting profits of manufacturers including Panasonic Corp. The halting this week of Japan’s last operating nuclear reactor leaves the nation more vulnerable to swings in crude oil prices, which have soared around 18 percent this year.

“Exports are rising on the yen’s depreciation and moderate growth in the global economy,” said Hiroaki Muto, a senior economist at Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management Co. in Tokyo, before the data were released. “Eventually, the effect of the yen’s fall will exceed the rise in energy prices and bring Japan back into surplus.”

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average was up 1.2 percent in Tokyo as of 9:03 a.m. The yen fell 0.4 percent to 98.28 per dollar.