Japan books 22 bln USD current account surplus in July

Tokyo [Japan], September 9: Japan logged a current account surplus of 3.19 trillion yen (about 22.4 billion U.S. dollars) in July, said a government report on Monday, noting an increase in foreign investment returns.
The figure marked an expansion of 418 billion yen from the same period a year ago, preliminary data from the Ministry of Finance showed.
Primary income, including dividends and interest income reflecting returns on overseas investments, booked a surplus of 4.44 trillion yen, the largest for a single month since comparable data became available in 1985.
According to the ministry, the country's goods trade balance turned into the red with a deficit of 482.7 billion yen, while services trade deficit came in at 532.8 billion yen in the recording period.
During the reporting period, the country's imports grew 16.8 percent to 9.9 trillion yen, while exports expanded by 9.7 percent to 9.42 trillion yen. (1 Japanese yen equals 0.007 U.S. dollars)
Source: Xinhua