Japan's burgeoning trade surplus expanded for the 13th straight month in January to more than four times its dollar value during the same month last year, the Finance Minstry announced Thursday.
The unadjusted customs-cleared surplus leaped 321.1 percent in dollar terms to $3.84 billion in January, compared with $911 million in January 1991.The ministry cited as the main cause for the huge jump a sharp drop in oil prices from last year, which distorted import values. Oil prices soared following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in August 1990
Imports fell 3.8 percent in dollar terms to $20.1 billion in January, while exports rose 9.7 percent from the year-ago period to $23.9 billion.