By Xinhua,
Tokyo : Japan’s current account surplus shrank for an eighth consecutive month in October, plummeting by 56.5 percent year-on-year to 960.5 billion yen (410.36 billion), the finance ministry said Monday.
The balance of trade in goods and services posted a deficit of 131.9 billion yen.
While the surplus in merchandise trade dived 87.2 percent to 145.8 billion yen, trade in services was down 4.2 percent to a deficit of 277.7 billion yen, said the ministry in a preliminary report.
Meanwhile, the income surplus contracted 16.3 percent year-on-year to 1,209.1 billion yen.
Analysts say that the yen’s continued appreciation will further trim the current account surplus as it discourages exports and cuts the income surplus.
The current account balance, the broadest gauge of trade in goods, services, tourism and investment, is calculated by determining the difference between a nation’s income from foreign sources and payments on foreign obligations, excluding net capital investment.