Account Surplus Hits Record High

Jiji Press

12:04 JST, October 9, 2024

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Japan’s current account surplus in August rose 65.8% from a year earlier to ¥3,803.6 billion, a record high for a single month, Finance Ministry data showed Tuesday.

The country logged a surplus in the current account, the broadest measure of a country’s international trade and investment flows, for the 19th consecutive month, with the primary income surplus also hitting a record high.

The surplus in the primary income account, which mainly covers Japanese companies’ dividend and interest receipts from abroad, increased 28.5% to ¥4,700.6 billion, thanks to expanded dividend receipts from overseas subsidiaries of automakers and other firms. The surplus was also pushed up by an increase in interest receipts from foreign bond investment amid higher interest rates overseas.

The goods trade balance was in the red with a deficit of ¥377.9 billion, smaller than a ¥755.2 billion deficit a year before, as exports expanded at a faster pace than imports did. Exports climbed 6.2% to ¥8,388.8 billion, reflecting brisk shipments of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, while imports rose 1.3% to ¥8,766.8 billion, led by expanded purchases of pharmaceutical and petroleum products.

The services trade deficit decreased to ¥104.9 billion from ¥301.9 billion a year ago, as the travel account surplus reached a record high for August at ¥404.5 billion.