TOKYO, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- Japan posted a current account surplus of 12.71 trillion yen (about 84 billion U.S. dollars) for the first half of its fiscal year 2023, government data showed on Thursday. The reading for the April-September fiscal period, which tripled from a year earlier, came as the country's trade deficit narrowed due to declines in global energy prices, according to the preliminary data issued by the Finance Ministry. In goods trade, the country's deficit shrank 84.7 percent to 1.41 trillion yen for the reporting period, it said, adding that imports were down 13.2 percent at 51.03 trillion yen while exports remained flat at 49.62 trillion yen. Japan's deficit in services trade fell 29 percent to 2.33 trillion yen for the fiscal half of the fiscal, as Japan's travel surplus, which means the amount of money spent by foreign visitors to Japan exceeds that spent by Japanese abroad, expanded. Boosted by higher overseas yields and a weaker yen, the primary income, which reflects returns on overseas investments, saw its surplus up 3.9 percent to 18.38 trillion yen, the highest since comparable data became available in fiscal 1985, according to the ministry. In September alone, the current account surplus more than tripled to 2.72 trillion yen, while primary income shrank 1.1 percent to 3.08 trillion yen, the data showed. (1 Japanese yen equals about 0.0066 U.S. dollars)
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