Japan Feb. Current Account Surplus Hits 3.93 T. Yen

Tokyo, April 8 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s current account surplus stood at 3,932.7 billion yen in February, marking the 13th straight month in the black, Finance Ministry preliminary data showed Wednesday. The surplus in the balance of international payments linked to goods and services trade and investments narrowed as export growth slowed, compressing a goods trade surplus. Effects from escalating tensions in the Middle East are expected to become evident from March onward. The trade surplus shrank to 267.6 billion yen from 809.9 billion yen a year earlier. Imports rose 9.7 pct from a year earlier, outpacing a 2.8 pct gain in exports. The slowdown in exports reflected sluggish activity at companies in China during the country’s Lunar New Year holiday period, which began in mid-February. The primary income balance posted a surplus of 4,240.3 billion yen, up 11.6 pct, driven by higher interest receipts on overseas bond holdings and a wider surplus in securities investment income. The yen’s further decline also lifted the yen-denominated value of income. The services account logged a deficit of 284.5 billion yen, little changed from 285.7 billion yen a year earlier. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]