(RTTNews) - Japan’s unadjusted current account surplus was down 65.9 percent on year in November, the Ministry of Finance said on Tuesday, standing at 581.2 billion yen.

That came in below analyst expectations that called for a 61.9 percent annual decline to 650.3 billion yen, and it also marked the ninth straight month of surplus contraction. The current account surplus was 960.5 billion yen in October and 1.7058 trillion yen in November 2007.

The current account figure is the broadest measure of Japan’s foreign trade performance, includes trade in goods, services, tourism and investments.

The unadjusted balance for goods and services reflected a deficit of 184.2 billion yen following a 131.9 billion yen shortfall in the previous month and a surplus of 793.5 billion yen in the year ago period.

The unadjusted trade balance showed a deficit of 93.4 billion yen following a 145.8 billion yen surplus a month earlier and a 907.6 billion yen surplus a year earlier.

Exports were down 26.5 percent on year percent to 5,623.0 billion yen, marking the largest decline on record, the Ministry said. Imports fell an annual 13.7 percent to 5,155.7 billion yen.

Also on Tuesday, Japanese bank lending to banks excluding trusts was up 4.1 percent on year, the Bank of Japan said, up from the 3.6 percent annual gain in November. Including trusts, lending was up 3.7 percent on year from the 3.2 percent annual gain in the previous month. Seasonally adjusted, lending was up 4.6 percent compared to 4.1 percent a month earlier.

M2 money supply was up 1.8 percent on year, matching the revised figure from the previous month and beating forecasts for a 1.7 percent annual jump. M3 money stocks were up 0.8 percent in December, topping the revised gain of 0.7 percent in November and also beating forecasts for a 0.6 percent gain.

The broad measure of liquidity eased 0.3 percent compared to the previous month.

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Posted in Categories: Economy, Forex, Japan, Releases.

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