Japan posted a current account surplus of 303.5 billion yen in December, the Ministry of Finance said on Wednesday, down 74.7 percent on year. That was well shy of forecasts for a surplus of 340.1 billion yen and a 71.2 percent annual contraction. It also follows the 138.5 billion yen surplus and the 85.5 percent decline on year in November.
The adjusted current account surplus was 752.3 billion yen, beating forecasts for a surplus of 625.3 billion yen following the 480.4 billion yen surplus in the previous month.
The trade balance reflected a deficit of 145.8 billion yen - also missing forecasts for a shortfall of 135.0 billion yen following the 585.1 billion yen deficit in the previous month.
Exports were down 7.0 percent on year to 5.443 trillion yen. That follows the 3.1 percent contraction on year in November, which came in at 4.990 trillion yen.
Imports climbed 9.8 percent on year to 5.689 trillion yen, after posting a 14.0 percent annual increase in the previous month to 5.576 trillion yen.
Goods and services saw a deficit of 300.2 billion yen after showing a shortfall of 700.2 billion yen in November.
The financial account saw a surplus of 748 billion yen, while the capital account posted a surplus of 148.6 billion yen.
For all of 2011, the current account surplus was 9.628 trillion yen, down 43.9 percent on year. That follows the 17.170 trillion yen surplus in 2010.
The trade deficit was 1.608 trillion yen after posting a surplus of 7.978 trillion yen in the previous year. Exports fell 1.9 percent on year to 62.723 trillion yen, while imports climbed 15.0 percent to 64.332 trillion yen.
Also on Wednesday, the Bank of Japan said that overall bank lending in Japan was up 0.7 percent on year in January, standing at 396.734 trillion yen. That follows the 0.5 percent increase in December.
Including trusts, bank lending added an annual 0.6 percent to 459.176 trillion yen. That matched analyst expectations following the 0.4 percent gain in the previous month.
Lending from foreign banks plummeted 28.9 percent on year to 2.246 trillion in January. That follows the revised 32.1 percent contraction in December.
Upon the release of the data, the Japanese yen showed little changes against major rivals, trading near 101.75 against the euro, 76.80 versus the U.S. dollar, 122.05 against the British pound and 84.19 versus the Swiss franc.
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