Japan Current Account in Jan. Ideas Later.

Japan logs current account surplus for 12th month in Jan. on China exports

Article source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260309/p2g/00m/0bu/021000c

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TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan posted a current account surplus of 941.6 billion yen ($5.9 billion) in January, remaining in the black for the 12th straight month, as an increase in exports, mainly to China, trimmed the trade deficit over the year, the Finance Ministry said Monday.

The current account balance, one of the widest gauges of international trade, in January marked a turnaround from a deficit of 344.6 billion yen the year before, the ministry said in a preliminary report.

The surplus in primary income, including dividends and interest earnings from overseas investments, fell 22.2 percent to 2.75 trillion yen, on declines in dividends from overseas subsidiaries of Japanese automakers.

The goods trade recorded a deficit of 600.4 billion yen, plunging 79.5 percent from the year before.

Exports jumped 20.3 percent to 9.04 trillion yen, rising for the fifth month.

The ministry cited trade data released earlier that said shipments of semiconductors and other electronic devices surged 39.2 percent and those of nonferrous metals grew 36.0 percent in the month.

A ministry official said demand from Chinese businesses for materials from Japan surged in January ahead of the Lunar New Year holidays the following month.

Imports fell 7.7 percent to 9.64 trillion yen, marking the first decline in two months, as crude oil prices logged $66.74 per barrel, down 12.9 percent from the year before, the ministry said.

But the value of imports could rise in the months ahead following the launch of airstrikes on Iran by the United States and Israel on Feb. 28, driving up crude oil prices on concern about supply disruptions.

Among other key components, the country registered a services trade deficit of 715.3 billion yen, up 43.4 percent, affected by increased payments by a pharmaceutical company, whose name was not disclosed, in connection with intellectual property rights and research and development.

The travel surplus shrank to 590.1 billion yen from 658.6 billion yen a year earlier, due to a drop in foreign visitors to Japan, while the number of Japanese travelers abroad increased, according to the ministry.

A surplus in the travel balance means spending in Japan by foreign visitors exceeded the amount spent overseas by Japanese.