Japan logs current account surplus for 26th straight month in Aug.

Japan logged a current account surplus for the 26th successive month in August from a month earlier as the yen's strength and low crude oil prices pushed down imports, the government said Tuesday.

According to the Ministry of Finance, the current account balance which quantifies the international trade of goods, services and investments in and out of the country, stood at 2.00 trillion yen (19 billion U.S. dollars), up 23.1 percent from a year earlier.

Goods trade, a key component in the current account, registered a surplus of 243.2 billion yen (2.34 billion U.S. dollars), with the import value standing at 5.06 trillion yen (48.69 billion U.S. dollars), down by 18.3 percent from a year earlier, while the export value reached 5.3 trillion yen (51.00 billion U.S. dollars), down by 9.6 percent from a year earlier.

The value of crude oil imports dropped 35.7 percent as average oil prices dropped 23.1 percent to 45.37 U.S. dollars per barrel in the month. The value of liquefied natural gas imports dropped 34.6 percent.

The services trade, however, logged a deficit of 52.5 billion yen (505 million U.S. dollars), while the figure was 94.6 billion yen (910 million U.S. dollars) a year earlier.

The surplus in the primary income account, another key component and reflecting earns from foreign investments, fell 2.8 percent to 1.99 trillion yen (19.1 billion U.S. dollars). Endit