TOKYO, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) --Japan's current account surplus in August went down 52.5 percent from a year earlier, registering the sixth straight month decline.
The surplus in the current account, the broadest gauge of Japan's trade with the rest of the world, amounted to 988.8 billion yen in August, the Finance Ministry reported Wednesday.
The merchandise trade posted a 236-billion-yen deficit for the first time since January 2006 as Japan's import value is expanding on the back of rising prices of resources.
The balance of trade in goods and services also posted a deficit of 327.6 billion yen, the second-largest since January 1985, when comparable data are available.
Strong demand for Japanese steel products in other Asian countries drove exports growing for the second straight month to 6,721.0 billion yen, up 0.9 percent from a year earlier.
Imports jumped 20.2 percent to 6,957.0 billion yen, hitting the second-highest level since July this year.
Trade in services recorded a deficit of 91.6 billion yen, down 52.3 percent.
