- Yasunari Ueno, chief market economist at Mizuho Securities
Japan's current account remained in surplus in September for a 15th straight month as low oil prices and a weak Japanese Yen boosted income from overseas. Japan logged a 1.5 trillion yen excess in the broadest measure of trade, compared with economists' expectations for a 2.15 trillion yen surplus. Low energy import bill and the weaker Yen combined with influx of tourists from overseas improves Japan's trade picture. The strength in the current account shows that firms are continuing to accumulate wealth, which could be used for more investment and wage increases to help the world's third biggest economy that has struggled to gain steam.
In addition to that, Japan's current account surplus more than quadrupled in the six months to September due to an improving trade picture and buoyant returns on investments abroad. The 8.7 trillion yen excess for April-September was well up from the 2.0 trillion yen a year earlier, according to official data. The data comes after the finance ministry said Japan's trade deficit contracted more than 80% in September due to a slump in the value of energy imports.
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