Japan posted ¥2.84 trillion in current account surplus in May, up 41.8% from a year before and the largest for the month since comparable statistics became available in 1985, Finance Ministry data showed Monday.
The country logged a current account surplus for the 16th straight month, according to the preliminary balance of payments data.
The rosy result came as the primary income account rose 13.0% to ¥4.21 trillion, the largest for any month, thanks to growth in coupon income from foreign bonds reflecting higher overseas interest rates and a rise in dividend receipts in yen terms due to the weakening of the Japanese currency.
The goods trade deficit decreased to ¥1.108 trillion from ¥1.199 trillion a year before.
Exports increased 12.1% to ¥8.132 trillion, propelled by robust shipments of automobiles and semiconductor-making equipment. Imports rose 9.3% to ¥9.241 trillion because of higher crude oil prices.
Services trade turned to a surplus of ¥2.3 billion from the year-before deficit of ¥180.3 billion. The turnaround was backed by an increase of visitors to Japan, which resulted in a larger travel account surplus.
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