TOKYO, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- Japan's current account surplus dropped from a year earlier in the first half of fiscal 2019, owing in part to a slump in exports to other parts of Asia, the government said in a report on Monday.
In the April-September period, the surplus in the current account came to 10.34 trillion yen (95 billion U.S. dollars), dropping 3.3 percent from a year earlier but marking the 11th straight increase for the fiscal-half-year, the Finance Ministry said.
Among key components, goods trade turned minus in the recording period, logging a deficit of 24.1 billion yen (221 million U.S. dollars).
Exports, meanwhile, fell 6.1 percent to 37.58 trillion yen (345 billion U.S. dollars), due to shipments of semiconductor manufacturing equipment and auto parts dropping in the six months ending September.
Imports also retreated, down 3.3 percent from a year earlier to 37.60 trillion yen (345 billion U.S. dollars), owing to a slump in purchases of liquefied natural gas and other energy-linked products from the Middle East.
Reflecting returns on foreign investment, the surplus in the primary income account edged down to 11.31 trillion yen (103 billion U.S. dollars), the ministry said.
Services trade, meanwhile, was in the red at 271.1 billion yen (2.4 billion U.S. dollars), while in services, the travel surplus was in the black at 1.35 trillion yen (12 billion U.S. dollars), owing to robust inbound figures for travelers visiting Japan, the ministry's data showed.
Japan logged a current account surplus of 1.61 trillion yen (14.7 billion U.S. dollars) for September alone, the ministry added, marking the 63rd consecutive month of increase.
Services trade in the period logged a surplus of 40.1 billion yen (368 million U.S. dollars) and primary income registered was in the black at 1.81 trillion yen (16.6 billion U.S. dollars).
The goods trade surplus, however, plummeted 99.6 percent from a year earlier to 1.1 billion yen (10 million U.S. dollars), the ministry said.
