Japan's current account surplus rose unexpectedly in April as profits on overseas investments surged, but evidence of sluggish exports left doubts over the strength of the economy.
The surplus on the current account, the broadest measure of trade in goods and services, was 1.6269 trillion yen ($15.17 billion) in April, government data showed today.
The figure, up 5.2 per cent from a year earlier, compared with forecasts in a Reuters poll that had centred on a 1.5342 trillion yen surplus, or a fall of 0.8 per cent.
The surplus on the income account was up 18.5 per cent in April from a year earlier, the Finance Ministry data showed. A ministry official credited the jump to gains on Japanese holdings of foreign assets, mainly US and European bonds.
The trade surplus fell for the fourth straight month as high oil prices pushed up the price of imports and offset mild growth in exports.
Exports rose 7.5 per cent from a year earlier, but imports jumped 12.1 per cent, causing the trade surplus to narrow by 5.6 per cent year-on-year to 1.1966 trillion yen.