INTERNATIONAL

Japan Trade Surplus Hits Record in First Half: The nation’s giant current account surplus rose 2.2% to a record $68.78 billion in the first half of 1994, the Finance Ministry said, but economists say the surplus is on a downward trend in terms of volume and yen. “Exports are not growing much and imports are growing a lot, so in volume terms the surplus is on a shrinking trend,” said Nobuyuki Saji, economist at Nikko Research Center. The Ministry said Japan’s current account surplus--the broadest measure of trade in goods and services--widened to an unadjusted $11.11 billion in June from $10.61 billion a year earlier and $8.72 billion in May. The surplus in trade alone rose to a non-seasonally adjusted $13.11 billion in June compared to $11.48 billion a year earlier and $8.84 billion in May.