Japan's current account surplus expanded 76.3% from a year earlier to ¥1.90 trillion ($13.6 billion) in April, lifted by a smaller trade deficit amid lower crude oil prices, the Finance Ministry said Thursday.
The current account balance, one of the widest gauges of international trade, remained in the black for the third consecutive month, with the goods trade deficit shrinking 83.5% to ¥113.1 billion, according to the ministry's preliminary data.
Imports declined 4.1% from a year earlier to ¥8.34 trillion after the price of crude oil dropped 22.6% to $83.42 per barrel, the ministry said. It is the first time imports have declined in two years and three months.
Exports grew 2.6% to ¥8.22 trillion, led by increased shipments of automobiles and optical instruments, the data showed.
Primary income, which reflects returns on overseas investments, posted a surplus of ¥3.07 trillion, up 3.1%, driven by higher interest rates overseas and the weak yen against the U.S. dollar and other currencies.
The surplus in primary income was a record high for April, according to the ministry.
Japan's services trade deficit, which includes cargo shipping and passenger transportation, narrowed 35.5% from a year earlier to ¥646.5 billion thanks to an expanded travel surplus, according to the ministry.
The travel balance surplus jumped more than elevenfold to ¥294.1 billion, boosted by a sharp increase in the number of foreign visitors to Japan following the easing of COVID-19 restrictions, the data showed.
A travel surplus occurs when the amount of money foreign visitors spend in Japan exceeds what Japanese people spend overseas.
Nearly 2 million foreign nationals visited the country in April, while 560,200 Japanese left the country, according to data from the Japan National Tourism Organization.