Japan‘s current account surplus in August reached a record high of ¥3,803.6 billion, marking a 65.8% increase from the previous year, according to data released by the Finance Ministry on Tuesday. This marks the 19th consecutive month that Japan has recorded a surplus in its current account, which measures international trade and investment flows. The primary income surplus also hit a record high during this period.
The primary income account surplus, which primarily includes dividend and interest receipts from Japanese companies’ overseas subsidiaries, rose by 28.5% to ¥4,700.6 billion. This increase was attributed to higher dividend receipts from automakers and other firms with overseas subsidiaries. Additionally, interest receipts from foreign bond investments also contributed to the surge in the primary income surplus due to higher interest rates abroad.
On the other hand, Japan’s goods trade balance showed a deficit of ¥377.9 billion in August compared to a deficit of ¥755.2 billion in the same period last year. The deficit was smaller as exports grew at a faster pace than imports did during this time frame. Export figures climbed by 6.2% to reach ¥8,388.8 billion due to strong shipments of semiconductor manufacturing equipment while imports increased by 1.3% to reach ¥8,766.8 billion driven by increased purchases of pharmaceutical and petroleum products.
Furthermore, Japan’s services trade deficit decreased significantly from ¥301.9 billion last year to ¥104 .9billion this year as the travel account recorded a record high surplus for August at ¥404 .5billion.