Japan’s current account surplus fell sharply in...

Japan’s current account surplus fell sharply in August to $5.3 billion from $7.17 billion in July and $7.05 billion a year earlier, Japan’s Finance Ministry reported. The ministry said August was the fourth consecutive month in which the surplus dropped from year-earlier levels. The ministry said the figure is evidence that the Japanese yen’s appreciation, from 242 to the dollar in September, 1985, to the current 146-yen level, has begun making an impact on Japan’s external imbalances. Japan’s trade surplus also shrank in August, to $6.21 billion from $8.11 billion a year earlier and $8.55 billion in July, officials said.