Japan Current Account Surplus Doubles from Last Year

apan’s current account surplus for April doubled from a year before, marking the third consecutive monthly gain, as an increase in direct investment income outweighed a trade deficit, government data showed Monday.

The surplus in the balance, one of the widest gauges of international trade, stood at 750.0 billion yen, up 376.5 billion yen from a year earlier, the Finance Ministry said in a preliminary report.

The income account, which reflects how much Japan earns from its foreign investments, marked a record high monthly surplus of 2.12 trillion yen, up 51.8 percent, helped by a rise in dividends and profits Japanese firms gained from their overseas units.

A weaker yen generally boosts the value of Japanese investors’ overseas investment gains in yen terms. The Japanese currency has significantly weakened against other currencies, particularly under the aggressive monetary easing policy pursued by the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

The goods trade deficit expanded for the eighth straight month to 818.8 billion yen, the highest level for April since 1985 as growing imports more than offset a rise in exports.

via Mainichi

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