Japan posts current account surplus of $18.03 billion in November
Tokyo, Jan 12 (efe-epa).- Japan recorded a current account surplus of 1.88 trillion yen ($18.03 billion) in November, marking the 77th straight month that the balance of payments has shown a surplus, the Japanese government announced on Tuesday.
The figure is 29 percent higher than that recorded in the same month of the previous year, but 12.4 percent lower than that of October, according to data published by the Japanese finance ministry.
Japan’s trade balance posted a surplus of 616.10 billion yen in contrast with the 20 billion yen deficit recorded during the same month of 2019, and is 36.5 percent lower than the figure recorded in the previous month.
Exports decreased by 3.4 percent year-on-year to 6.04 trillion yen, while imports fell by 13.6 percent to 5.42 trillion yen.
The services account had a deficit of 181.6 billion yen, a figure that contrasts with the surplus of 176.9 billion yen recorded in the same month of the previous year, and which is 52.8 percent lower than the deficit recorded in October.
The income account registered a surplus in the 11th month of 2020, worth 1.72 trillion yen, a year-on-year increase of 17.8 percent.
The transfer account recorded a deficit of 280.5 billion yen, a year-on-year jump of 70.8 percent and an increase of 22.9 percent quarter-on-quarter.
The balance of payments reflects payments and receipts from foreign trade in goods, services, incomes and transfers, and is considered one of the broadest trade indicators of a country. EFE-EPA
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