Japan Current Account Surplus Grows 3.4 Pct in FY 2017

May 10, 2018

Tokyo- Japan's current account surplus grew 3.4 pct in fiscal 2017 from the previous year, expanding for the fourth consecutive year partly due to higher dividend income from abroad, the Finance Ministry said in a preliminary report Thursday.

The country's surplus in the current account, a measure of the flow of goods, services and investments, totaled 21,736.2 billion yen in the year ended in March, the third-highest level on record and the highest since the global financial crisis of 2008.

The goods trade surplus narrowed, but the surplus in the primary income account, including Japanese companies' dividend and interest income from abroad, grew 6.3 pct to 19,910.5 billion yen.

The deficit in services trade more than halved to 602.9 billion yen as Japan posted a record travel surplus of 1,932.5 billion yen thanks to an increased number of visitors to the country.

The goods trade surplus fell 20.8 pct to 4,581.8 billion yen.

Exports rose 10.6 pct, led by brisk shipments of automobiles and chipmaking equipment, but imports expanded by a larger 13.4 pct due to higher prices for crude oil, liquefied natural gas and other commodities.

The ministry said that commodities prices have been substantially affecting the country's goods trade balance in recent years.

The goods trade balance could swing into a deficit due to higher oil prices, an official at the ministry's International Bureau said.

In March alone, the current account surplus rose 4.2 pct from a year before to 3,122.3 billion yen. Jiji Press