Ministry of Finance. (Mainichi)

       TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan's current account surplus grew 50.3 percent in the first half of 2021 from a year earlier to 10.5 trillion yen ($95 billion), boosted by a remarkable improvement in exports from a slump caused by the coronavirus pandemic, government data showed Tuesday.

       Among key components, the goods trade balance marked a 2.3 trillion yen surplus, a turnaround from the previous year's 973.5 billion yen deficit, as exports of cars, auto parts and other items rebounded in line with a strong recovery of the global economy from a pandemic-induced slump in early 2020.

       Also lifted by brisk shipments of semiconductor producing equipment amid a global chip crunch, exports soared 22.2 percent to 39.2 trillion yen.

       Imports expanded 11.6 percent to 36.9 trillion yen on the back of higher materials prices such as nonferrous metals and iron ore, the Finance Ministry said.

       The year-on-year rise of 50.3 percent, or 3.5 trillion yen, in the current account surplus for the six-month period was the sharpest increase on a value basis since a 4.8 percent trillion yen jump in the second half of 2015, the ministry said.

       The surplus of 10.5 trillion yen in the current account balance, one of the widest gauges of international trade, surpassed the pre-pandemic level of a 10.3 trillion yen surplus in the first half of 2019, the ministry said.

       Meanwhile, the services trade balance, which includes cargo shipping and passenger transportation, registered a 2.1 trillion yen deficit, deteriorating from a 1.9 trillion yen deficit a year ago.

       The latest services trade deficit was the worst since 2.3 trillion yen red ink in the latter half of 2012.

       The travel surplus of 105.5 billion yen was far below the 1.4 trillion yen and 420.7 billion yen logged in the first-six-month periods of 2019 and 2020, respectively, as many countries kept tight international travel restrictions in place due to the pandemic.

       The travel balance reflects the amount of money foreign visitors spend in Japan versus how much Japanese spend abroad.

       "Last year, the impact from the coronavirus on the number of overseas tourists (to Japan) was hardly felt in January before it began to emerge in February. But this year, there have been almost no visitors from the start," a ministry official said.

       Primary income, which reflects returns on overseas investments, posted a surplus of 11.4 trillion yen, up 6.6 percent, to log the largest black ink since comparable data became available in 1985, due to an increase in returns on direct overseas investments.

       In June alone, the current account surplus increased more than six-fold to 905.1 billion yen from a year earlier, staying in the black for 84 months.

       The nation registered a goods trade surplus of 648.5 billion yen, and a services trade deficit of 346.4 billion yen. Primary income logged a surplus of 680.5 billion yen.

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