Japan's FY2024 current account surplus hits record ¥30 trillion.
Japan's current account surplus hit a record high in fiscal 2024 as a weaker yen boosted dividend and interest flows from overseas, a Finance Ministry report showed Monday.
For the year ended March, Japan posted a current account surplus of ¥30.38 trillion ($208 billion), the highest since comparable data began in 1985, according to the preliminary balance of payments report.
The fiscal 2024 surplus topped the previous record of ¥26.17 trillion, set in fiscal 2023.
In the primary income account, the country's surplus jumped 11.7% from the previous year to a record ¥41.71 trillion, reflecting an increase in dividend and income payments to domestic companies from their overseas subsidiaries amid the yen's depreciation against the dollar and other major currencies.
In goods trade, Japan incurred a deficit of ¥4,05 trillion, wider than the previous year's deficit of ¥3.69 trillion. Exports climbed 4.1% to ¥106.24 trillion, led by shipments of semiconductor manufacturing equipment and vehicles. Imports increased 4.3% to ¥110.29 trillion, backed by demand for computers.
In services trade, Japan logged a deficit of ¥2.58 trillion, smaller than the previous year's ¥3.23 trillion. While its travel account surplus hit a record ¥6.69 trillion, the deficit in digital trade, including online advertising, also reached a record level, at ¥6.97 trillion.
In March alone, Japan's current account surplus grew 6.7% from a year earlier to ¥3.68 trillion, a new record high for the month.
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