Japan's current account surplus hits record high in February

Japan's current account surplus in February jumped 48.4 % from a year earlier to 4,060.7 billion yen, a record high for a single month since comparable data became available in 1985, Finance Ministry data showed Tuesday.

Japan posted a surplus in the current account balance, the broadest measure of a country's international trade and investment flows, for the first time in two months, mainly as the trade balance turned into a surplus.

In goods trade, Japan's surplus totaled 712.9 billion yen, against the year-before deficit of 298.3 billion yen, the ministry said in a preliminary report.

Exports climbed 10.4 % at 9,005.5 billion yen, led by growth in exports of automobiles and semiconductor manufacturing equipment.

By contrast, imports fell 1.9 % to 8,292.6 billion yen due to the decline in crude oil and coal imports.

The surplus on the primary income account, which mainly covers Japanese companies' dividend and interest receipts from abroad, expanded 10.9 % to 3,881.7 billion yen, hitting a record high for February, led by robust income from foreign securities investment and growth in interest income from bond holdings and dividend receipts.

The services trade deficit came to 175.5 billion yen, against the year-before deficit of 117.7 billion yen, reflecting a larger deficit in business services, including internet advertising, and a decline in the surplus of royalties on intellectual property rights.

$Japan\'s current account surplus hits record high in February$