TOKYO, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Japan's current account logged a surplus of 438.2 billion yen (2.96 billion U.S. dollars) in January on record foreign investment returns and a sharp drop in imports, government data showed on Friday.
Primary income gains, or returns on overseas investments, saw Japan log a surplus of 2.85 trillion yen, amid rising overseas bond yields as major central banks tightened monetary policy to fight inflation, according to the Finance Ministry.
In goods trade, imports were down 12.1 percent to 8.78 trillion yen after the value of coal and liquefied natural gas imports decreased, while exports gained 7.6 percent to 7.34 trillion yen as shipments of cars and equipment to manufacture semiconductors increased.
The services trade deficit shrank 27.4 percent to 521.1 billion yen, helped by the largest-ever travel surplus of 415.9 billion yen due to increased spending by foreign visitors to Japan, it added.
The number of foreign visitors to Japan totaled 2.69 million in January, recovering to the pre-pandemic 2019 level. (1 Japanese yen equals 0.0068 U.S. dollars) ■
