Japan Trade Surplus Rises in December but Dips for Year
Japan said Friday that its trade surplus in December was nearly $1 billion more than the same month in 1987, but for the year slipped 2% to $94.79 billion.
The December trade surplus rose to $10.93 billion from $9.96 billion in the year-earlier month, the government said.
The broader-based December current account surplus, which includes trade in both goods and services, fell to $9.27 billion from $9.44 billion in the year-earlier month. This was still above the previous month’s $6.76 billion.
For the whole year, Japan’s trade surplus in goods and services fell nearly 9%, but economists see little hope for any cut in the surplus in 1989.
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