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Japan's current account surplus falls
TOKYO, Japan -- The surplus in Japan's current account fell 6.8 percent in September from a year earlier, the Ministry of Finance said Monday. It was the first such fall in a year. The surplus, the broadest measure of trade in goods and services, was down from 1.2556 trillion yen ($10.46 billion) in September 2001 to 1.1705 trillion yen ($9.76 billion). But September's surplus was up 8.4 percent on the August figure of 1.0798 trillion yen. Japan on Wednesday will report economic growth figures for the September quarter, with most forecasts suggesting the economy probably grew 0.5 percent from the second quarter. The annualized growth rate is likely to be about 1.8 percent, compared with 2.6 percent in the second quarter. Slowing U.S. consumer demand for Japanese goods is stalling exports, which have been the main driver of economic growth this year. October export figures are likely to be weak, because of the shutdown of U.S. West Coast ports at the start of last month. Japan's current account surplus for the first half of the financial year, from April to September, rose 25.4 percent from the same period a year earlier to 33.861 trillion yen. Reuters contributed to this report.
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