TOKYO, Oct. 10 (Xinhua) -- Japan posted a current account surplus of 2.28 trillion yen (about 15 billion U.S. dollars) in August, more than tripled compared to a year earlier, government data showed on Tuesday.
The current account surplus in the seventh straight month of gains came as the country's imports decreased and 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 69.5 percent to 749.5 billion yen, it said.
In August, exports fell 2.6 percent to 7.89 trillion yen, while imports saw a larger 18.2 percent drop to 8.64 trillion yen, the data showed.
The primary income, which reflects returns on overseas investments, saw its surplus down 8 percent to 3.64 trillion yen, according to the ministry.
Japan's travel surplus, which means the amount of money spent by foreign visitors to Japan exceeds that spent by Japanese abroad, came to 258.2 billion yen, the biggest for August since comparable data became available in 1996. (1 Japanese yen equals about 0.0067 U.S. dollar) ■