P.M. BRIEFING : Japan’s Surplus Drops 39.4%

TOKYO — Japan’s trade surplus plunged 39.4% to $4.66 billion in October from $7.68 billion a year earlier, the largest fall ever recorded, the Finance Ministry said today.

Booming demand for imports, weaker exports and a strong dollar were behind the data, economists said. They expected the total 1989 surplus to narrow markedly from last year.

“We should see a significant decline this year,” said Soichi Enkyo, an economist at Bank of Tokyo.

“These are made-to-order numbers and they get Japan off the hook for the GATT meeting this week,” said Ken Courtis, senior economist at DB Capital Markets Asia.

A meeting of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade starts in Tokyo Wednesday. The world trade body will discuss disputes including those arising from Japan’s large trade surplus.