Asien: Japans Leistungsbilanz rutscht erstmals seit 17 Monaten ins Minus

Tokyo - Japan recorded a current account deficit for the first time in 17 months in June, according to the country's Finance Ministry. The deficit stood at 92.3 billion yen (584.51 million dollars), the ministry announced on Monday. Analysts had expected a surplus of 1.51 trillion yen, following a surplus of 1.28 trillion yen in the previous month.

The net surplus from primary income in securities and direct investments, typically the largest driver of Japan's trade surplus, fell by 74 percent to 380 billion yen. This was due to higher dividend payments from Japanese companies to foreign investors. In addition, higher costs for oil imports created a trade balance deficit that further pushed the current account into the red.

In the first half of the year, however, Japan's trade surplus increased by 22.5 percent to a record 17.4 trillion yen, driven by a surplus from exports of AI center semiconductors.