Japan's current surplus up for first time in 3 years

Japan's current account surplus increased in the first half of fiscal 2013, up for the first time in six half-year periods, as trade deficit was overweighed by the growth in direct investment income, local media reported Monday. The surplus in the balance of international payments, one of the widest gauges of trade for a country, gained 10.7 percent from the previous year to 3,054.8 billion yen in the April-September period, the Finance Ministry said in a preliminary report. The goods trade balance logged a deficit of 4,666.4 billion yen in the reporting period, the largest for any half-year period since comparable data became available in 1985, as a weaker yen continued to drive up import costs, it said. The income account, which reflects how much Japan earns from its foreign investments, soared to 8,995.0 billion yen, supported by higher dividends and profits from securities investments on the back of the depreciation of the yen. In September alone, the nation's current account balance grew 14.3 percent from a year earlier to 587.3 billion yen, up for the eighth straight month, the ministry said.