Japan’s Trade Balance Expands 10.8%

A closely watched indicator of Japan’s trade balance broke a nine-month losing streak to expand 10.8% in September.

The nation’s current account surplus--the difference between its income from foreign sources and payments on foreign obligations--rose to about $13.3 billion from $12 billion in the same month a year ago, the Finance Ministry said.

The September figures came as a welcome surprise for Japan’s export-oriented economy. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires were expecting the surplus to be down by 14.2%.

The figures for the first half of the fiscal year, from April through September, showed the extent of the global economic slowdown’s toll on Japan’s export machine, however. The first-half surplus declined 23.5% to $42.7 billion, as demand for consumer electronics and technology slowed and a rising dollar inflated the price of imports, the ministry said.