Japan's current account marks fourth month of black ink

 Japan's current account surplus in May stood at 522.8 billion yen (5.13 billion U.S. dollars), marking the fourth straight month in black ink, said the country's Finance Ministry Tuesday.
The figure fell 7.7 percent from a year earlier, said the ministry in a preliminary report.
Among key components of the current account balance, goods trade balance logged 675.9 billion yen (6.63 billion dollars) in deficit, with exports increasing 2 percent from a year earlier to 5,718.8 billion yen and imports growing 0.4 percent to 6,394.7 billion yen.
The surplus under the primary income account declined 3.2 percent to 1,477.9 billion yen (14.52 billion dollars), the second consecutive month of drop, due to decreased dividends from foreign direct investment amid the effects of the weaker yen petering out.
The services sector, including passenger transportation and cargo shipping, posted a deficit of 68.2 billion yen (670.26 million dollars) in May.