The current balance of payments in February was a surplus of more than 1.64 trillion yen, showing how much Japan earned through trade and investment with foreign countries.
It has been in the black for the first time in three months, but the surplus is more than 40% lower than the same month last year due to the increase in imports due to the rise in crude oil prices.
According to the balance of payments statistics released by the Ministry of Finance, Japan's current account balance in February was a surplus of 1,648.3 billion yen.
It is the first time in three months that the current account is in the black.
Looking at the breakdown, the “trade balance”, which is obtained by subtracting imports from exports, posted a deficit of 176.8 billion yen due to an increase in imports due to rising prices of crude oil and LNG = liquefied natural gas.
On the other hand, the surplus in the "primary income balance", which indicates the exchange of interest and dividends earned from overseas securities investment, was 2,274.5 billion yen due to the fact that interest payments on US government bonds were made in February. The current account surplus has been secured.
However, the surplus amount was 1,217.7 billion yen, a decrease of 42.5% from the same month last year.
It has also been pointed out that if Russia's military invasion of Ukraine keeps the international futures price of crude oil high and the price of crude oil continues to rise, the balance of payments surplus may continue to shrink. ..