P. M. BRIEFING : Japanese Surplus Down 4th Month

Japan said today its current account trade surplus shrank 33% in June from a year earlier, marking the fourth straight month of declines, and economists said the gap could be sharply narrower this financial year.

Japan’s main measure in trade of goods and services dropped to a $4.12-billion surplus in June from $6.12 billion a year earlier.

“Japanese tourism is keeping the current account surplus down,” said economist Soichi Enkyo at Bank of Tokyo Ltd. Over the next three months that should continue because this is the summer travel season for Japanese, he noted.

Japan’s trade surplus in goods alone in June dropped 13% to $6.44 billion from $7.39 billion a year earlier. It was the fourth consecutive decrease, as imports grew faster than exports. Imports climbed 13% to $15.83 billion while exports rose just 4% to $22.27 billion.