TOKYO, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Japan logged a current account surplus of 3.7758 trillion yen (about 24.75 billion U.S. dollars) in August, marking the seventh consecutive month of surplus, data from the country's Finance Ministry showed Wednesday.
The surplus, however, narrowed by 4.8 percent from a year earlier due to a decline in primary income from overseas investments.
The primary income balance, which reflects interest and dividend payments from overseas assets, stood at 4.2986 trillion yen, down 11.5 percent year-on-year.
The ministry attributed the fall mainly to company-specific factors, such as fewer dividend receipts in the financial, insurance, and automobile sectors compared with a year earlier.
The trade balance posted a surplus of 105.9 billion yen, reversing a 385.6 billion yen deficit a year earlier, as imports fell more sharply than exports.
Imports dropped 6.0 percent to 8.2537 trillion yen, driven by lower prices of crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG). Exports slipped 0.4 percent to 8.3596 trillion yen, as U.S.-bound auto shipments declined under the U.S. tariff policies.
The services balance registered a deficit of 189.9 billion yen, 2.4 times larger than a year earlier, weighed down by a 22.1 percent drop in royalty and license fee income to 432.9 billion yen.
Meanwhile, the travel balance rose 3.1 percent to 419.5 billion yen, hitting a record high for August thanks to a continued increase in inbound tourists. (1 Japanese yen equals 0.007 U.S. dollars) ■
