国际英语新闻：Japan's current account surplus expands 10.4% in August

TOKYO, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Japan's current account surplus expanded 10.4 percent year-on-year in August to 1,171.2 billion (13.16 billion U.S. dollars), buoyed by a sharp fall in imports, the finance ministry said Thursday.

    According to the ministry, trade surplus in goods and services stood at 180.9 billion yen (2.03 billion dollars), up from a deficit of 257.0 billion yen (2.89 billion dollars) a year ago while surplus in merchandise trade came to 303.7 billion yen, compared with a deficit of 141.2 billion yen a year earlier.

    In Japan's trading with the rest of the world, exports suffered the 11th straight monthly decrease in August, down by 37.1 percent to 4,226.7 billion yen (47.49 billion dollars), while imports saw the largest shrinkage since record began in January 1986, plummeting 42.8 percent to 3,923.0 billion yen (44.08 billion dollars) from a year earlier.

    The deficit in the service account grew 6.0 percent to 122.8 billion yen (1.38 billion dollars).

    The current account balance, the broadest gauge of trade in goods, services, tourism and investment, is calculated by determining the difference between a nation's income from foreign sources and payments on foreign obligations, excluding net capital investment.