Japan posted a current account surplus of 522.8 billion yen in May, the Ministry of Finance said on Tuesday - remaining in the black for the fourth straight month.
The headline figure topped forecasts for a surplus of 429.9 billion yen, and was up from 187.4 billion yen in April.
The trade balance reflected a deficit of 675.9 billion yen - also beating expectations for a shortfall of 822.5 billion yen following the 780.4 billion yen deficit in the previous month.
Exports were up 2.0 percent on year to 5.718 trillion yen, while imports eased 0.4 percent to 6.394 trillion yen.
The financial account showed a surplus of 905.6 billion yen after posting a 1,634.2 billion yen shortfall in the previous month.
The capital account reflected a deficit of 15.0 billion yen after showing a shortfall of 8.9 billion yen a month earlier.
On an adjusted basis, the current account surplus was 384.6 billion yen - beating forecasts for 158.1 billion yen following the 130.5 billion yen surplus in April.
Also on Tuesday, the Bank of Japan said that overall bank lending in Japan was up 2.3 percent on year in June, standing at 476.152 trillion yen.
That beat forecasts for 2.2 percent, which was unchanged from the May reading following a downward revision from 2.3 percent.
For the second quarter, lending was up 2.2 percent on year.
Including trusts, bank lending added an annual 2.5 percent to 413.703 trillion yen - accelerating from 2.4 percent in the previous month.
Lending from trusts gained 1.3 percent to 62.449 trillion yen, while lending from foreign banks spiked an annual 10.7 percent to 2.183 trillion yen.
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May 22, 2026 14:46 ET Minutes of the latest Fed policy session was the highlight of the week along with survey data on the U.S. housing market. In Europe, survey data signaled the trends in the euro area private sector. Further, consumer price inflation data from the U.K. was in focus. In Asia, various economic indicators from China drew attention to the health of the economy.