Japan: Primary income surplus overwhelms the trade balance by large order of magnitude - BBH

Research Team at BBH, notes that the Japan reported May current account data overnight and despite strong seasonal patterns, the surplus worsened slightly to JPY1.4 trln from JPY1.6 trln on a seasonally adjusted basis. 

Key Quotes

“Typically, April deteriorates from March and May tends to improve upon April.  The bulk of the deterioration can be traced to the trade balance.  However, due to size of the sums involved, the yen's strength has a larger impact on capital flows than trade flows.  Japan’s primary income surplus overwhelms the trade balance by a large order of magnitude."