However, the tempo of increase has somewhat slowed, which also reflects the depreciation of the yen. Thus, both the real trade surplus and the nominal current account surplus declined rapidly until the first half of 1996 but have been rising since summer 1996.
Industrial production increased steadily in the third quarter 1996 by an annual rate of about 6 per cent and also rose significantly in October. These increases reflect the progress in inventory adjustments and the continued increase in shipments of capital goods, which is closely related to business fixed investment.