Japan Exports Slow and Current Account Surplus Drops in May 2008

Japan's current-account surplus narrowed for a third month in May as export growth slowed and record oil prices pushed up the import bill. The surplus shrank 5.9 percent to 2 trillion yen ($18.7 billion) from a year earlier, according to the latest data from the Ministry of Finance. Exports rose 4.2 percent in May from a year earlier, compared with 4.9 percent in April. Imports climbed 4 percent,