Japan Logs Current Account Surplus of 899.8 B. Yen in Jan.

Tokyo, March 8 (Jiji Press)--Japan logged a current-account surplus
of 899.8 billion yen in January, led by a record year-on-year growth in
exports, the Ministry of Finance said Monday.

The surplus came after Japan suffered a current-account deficit of
132.7 billion yen a year earlier, the first deficit in 13 years, dragged
down by a substantial trade deficit following the collapse of U.S.
investment bank Lehman Brokers Holdings Inc. in September 2008.
The surplus in January beat a median forecast of 750 billion yen
among 23 economic research institutes polled by Jiji Press.
In January, Japan logged a surplus of 197.2 billion yen in goods
trade, compared with a year-before deficit of 844.8 billion yen.
Exports surged 40.6 pct from a year ago to 4,616.9 billion yen, the
steepest growth since comparable data became available in 1986.
Imports rose 7.1 pct to 4,419.7 billion yen, rising for the first
time in 15 months.
Japan's deficit in services trade narrowed to 159.9 billion yen
from 212.4 billion yen a year before, thanks mainly to an improved balance
in maritime transportation amid growth in trade volume.
As a result, Japan posted a goods and services trade surplus of
37.3 billion yen, against a year-before deficit of 1,057.2 billion yen, the
ministry said.
Japan's income account surplus came to 911 billion yen, down 8.1
pct, as companies suffered falls in dividend income from their subsidiaries
abroad and interest income on bond investments.