Japan's current account surplus falls 18.2% on year in June

Japan's current account surplus fell 18.2 in June on year, the Ministry of Finance said in a report on Monday.

According to the report, the surplus stood at 1,047.1 billion yen (12.25 billion U.S. dollars) in the recording and for the first six months of 2010, the balance totaled a surplus of 8.53 trillion yen (99.82 billion U.S. dollars), which is a 47.3 percent increase from the same period a year earlier.

A current account surplus increases Japan's net foreign assets by the corresponding amount.

Both government and private payments are included in the calculation and it is called the current account because goods and services are generally consumed in the current period.

Positive net sales abroad for Japan, an export-driven economy, generally contributes to a current account surplus, because exports generate positive net sales, and because the trade balance is typically the largest component of the current account, a current account surplus is usually associated with positive net exports.

Source:Xinhua