Japan’s Trade Surplus Jumps in January

Japan’s trade surplus soared 87% in January from the same month in 1998, the government said. The merchandise trade surplus, the measure of all goods exported by Japan minus those imported, grew to $6.28 billion for the first month of the year. But Japan’s politically sensitive trade surplus with the United States decreased in January, falling 2.2% to $4.03 billion, the Finance Ministry said. Japan’s trade surplus rose 40.1% in 1998 from the previous year to a record $121.8 billion, and the country’s surplus with the U.S. rose 33.4% to $58.3 billion.