Japan’s Current-Account Surplus Up 92.7%

Japan’s current-account surplus soared in April on the back of strong overseas demand and a weaker yen, the government said. The surplus rose 92.7% from a year earlier to about $9.75 billion in April, according to the Ministry of Finance. Still, that’s not as much as the 96.1% gain that economists had forecast. The surplus, three-quarters of which is in merchandise trade, rose for the third time in the last four months and reflects exchange rates six to nine months ago. The dollar gained more than 15% against the yen between last summer and April, so exports should soar through at least the end of the year, economists said. “Even if the yen goes to 100 tomorrow, the trade surplus will still go up sharply this year,” Richard Jerram, an economist at ING Barings Securities (Japan) Ltd., said before the report was released. “April’s rise is not just a one-time increase; it’s clearly a pretty entrenched trend.”