Japan Current Account Surplus Falls 76.1% in April

Japan’s current account surplus plunged 76.1 percent from a year earlier to 187.4 billion yen in April, the smallest in 32 years for the month, with a surge in fossil fuel imports and the yen’s slide boosting the trade deficit, government data showed Monday.

But the nation’s current account balance remained in the black for the third straight month, as the travel balance — which compares the spending by visitors to Japan with that by Japanese overseas — turning into a surplus for the first time in around 44 years.

The balance — one of the widest gauges of international trade — was the lowest for the month of April since the 137.6 billion yen logged in 1982, the Finance Ministry said.

Imports rose 6.6 percent to 6,760.0 billion yen against a backdrop of rising imports of liquefied natural gas, while exports climbed 6.2 percent to 5,979.6 billion yen with shipments of automobiles and optical instruments growing, the ministry said in a preliminary report.

via Mainichi

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