Japan’s current account surplus up 40% in April-Sept.

Jiji Press

November 9, 2021

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Japan’s current account surplus in April-September grew 39.8% from a year before to ¥8,012.0 billion, pushed up chiefly by an increase in dividends that companies received from their overseas subsidiaries, government data showed Tuesday.

In September alone, however, current account surplus dived 31.1% to ¥1,033.7 billion, dampened mainly by a fall in automobile exports, according to a preliminary balance of payments report released by the Ministry of Finance.

In the first half of fiscal 2021, exports rose 34.6% to ¥40,828.7 billion, reflecting strong demand for automobiles and auto parts.

Imports expanded 31.4% to ¥39,849.8 billion, chiefly on the back of higher crude oil prices.

As a result, Japan’s surplus in goods trade came to ¥978.9 billion, up some 200 times.

In services trade, the country posted a deficit of ¥2,619.1 billion, against the year-before deficit of ¥2,288.1 billion.

The surplus on the primary income account totaled ¥10,784.7 billion, up 14.2%.

In September, Japan saw its current account surplus shrink for the second straight month.

The country’s automobile exports plunged 40.3%, as automakers were forced to cut production due to difficulties in procuring parts from Southeast Asia amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Also, higher crude oil prices led growth in imports.