Japan's current account surplus in May saw a nearly 2.5-fold increase from a year earlier to 1.86 trillion yen ($13 billion), helped by record investment returns for the month and a smaller trade deficit due to a sharp drop in energy imports, government data showed Monday.
Exports, a key driver of the Japanese economy, marked their first year-on-year drop in 27 months amid fewer shipments to China and concern about slowing global economic growth. In all, Japan's trade deficit shrank 38.8 percent to 1.19 trillion yen.
The country was in the black for the fourth straight month, with returns on overseas investments a major contributor.
Japan saw a primary income surplus of 3.63 trillion yen, the largest-ever recorded for May, as rising overseas yields boosted interest earnings, according to the Finance Ministry.
In May, the value of exports dropped 2.8 percent to 7.24 trillion yen, while imports saw a larger 10.2 percent fall to 8.43 trillion yen, as energy imports ranging from crude oil, coal and liquefied natural gas declined.
Resource-scarce Japan has been hit by surging import costs of energy and raw materials, along with a weaker yen that has inflated their prices.
The dollar traded at 137.37 yen in May, 6.7 percent higher than in May 2022.
The yen's depreciation is seen as a plus for foreign travelers, who have more purchasing power. Japan has seen a revival of inbound tourism in recent months following the easing of COVID-related border control measures.
While Japan reported a bigger service trade deficit than a year earlier of 240.9 billion yen, its travel surplus increased nearly 8.5 times to 274.4 billion yen, the government's data showed.
A travel surplus means the amount of money foreign visitors spend in Japan exceeds spending by Japanese people overseas.
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