Japan April current account surplus down 69.5pc y/y

TOKYO: Japan's current account surplus fell 69.5 percent in April from a year earlier, Ministry of Finance data showed on Wednesday, weighed down by a sharp fall in exports following the earthquake in March.

The fall compared with a median forecast for an 84.3 percent drop and followed a 34.3 percent decline in the year to March. The surplus stood at 405.6 billion yen ($5.07 billion), against a median forecast for a 210 billion yen surplus.

Japan's exports tumbled in April as carmakers' output slumped due to damaged facilities and broken supply chains after the March disaster, with the trade balance swinging into a deficit for the first time in three months, the ministry said earlier.

Economists have predicted the current account surplus will shrink in the near term as exports slide while imports of fuel and building materials grow to meet reconstruction demand.

Copyright Reuters, 2011