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Japan current account surplus widens again
11:55 AM Feb 08, 2010
TOKYO - Japan's current account surplus widened for a fifth month in December as exports advanced for the first time in more than a year.
The surplus rose to 901 billion yen ($14 billion) from a year earlier, the Ministry of Finance said today. The median estimate of 24 economists surveyed by Bloomberg was for the gap to grow to 1.01 trillion yen.
A surge in global trade probably helped the world's second-largest economy expand for a third quarter in the final three months of last year, analysts estimate a report will show next week.
Growth in Asia, which is bolstering sales at companies including Honda Motor, will continue to fuel Japan's surplus, according to economist Naoki Iizuka.
"Everything points to further gains in exports," Iizuka, a senior economist at Mizuho Securities in Tokyo, said before the report was released.
"The Asian economies are going to keep recovering, and that means Japan's exports will keep growing."
Economic growth probably accelerated at an annual 4 per cent pace in the three months ended December, compared with 1.3 per cent growth in the previous quarter, according to the median estimate of 18 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The Cabinet Office report is scheduled for release on Feb 15.
Exports rose 11.7 per cent in December, the first advance in 15 months, today's report showed.
Shipments to China gained 42.8 per cent in December, while exports to the United States slid 7.6 per cent and those to Europe advanced 1.4 per cent, customs-cleared trade data showed last month.
Today's figures do not include regional breakdowns.
Honda is benefiting from reviving demand in Asia. Japan's second-largest carmaker last week said it expects to sell 950,000 vehicles in the region excluding Japan this fiscal year, up from the 910,000 it projected earlier.
The company also raised its net income forecast for the same period to 265 billion yen from 155 billion yen.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, the current account surplus narrowed to 1.101 trillion yen in December. Exports fell 0.2 per cent from November and imports climbed 1.5 per cent.
The current account tracks the flow of goods, services and investment income between Japan and its trading partners. It includes trade not shown in the customs-cleared balance. BLOOMBERG
11:55 AM Feb 08, 2010
TOKYO - Japan's current account surplus widened for a fifth month in December as exports advanced for the first time in more than a year.
The surplus rose to 901 billion yen ($14 billion) from a year earlier, the Ministry of Finance said today. The median estimate of 24 economists surveyed by Bloomberg was for the gap to grow to 1.01 trillion yen.
A surge in global trade probably helped the world's second-largest economy expand for a third quarter in the final three months of last year, analysts estimate a report will show next week.
Growth in Asia, which is bolstering sales at companies including Honda Motor, will continue to fuel Japan's surplus, according to economist Naoki Iizuka.
"Everything points to further gains in exports," Iizuka, a senior economist at Mizuho Securities in Tokyo, said before the report was released.
"The Asian economies are going to keep recovering, and that means Japan's exports will keep growing."
Economic growth probably accelerated at an annual 4 per cent pace in the three months ended December, compared with 1.3 per cent growth in the previous quarter, according to the median estimate of 18 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The Cabinet Office report is scheduled for release on Feb 15.
Exports rose 11.7 per cent in December, the first advance in 15 months, today's report showed.
Shipments to China gained 42.8 per cent in December, while exports to the United States slid 7.6 per cent and those to Europe advanced 1.4 per cent, customs-cleared trade data showed last month.
Today's figures do not include regional breakdowns.
Honda is benefiting from reviving demand in Asia. Japan's second-largest carmaker last week said it expects to sell 950,000 vehicles in the region excluding Japan this fiscal year, up from the 910,000 it projected earlier.
The company also raised its net income forecast for the same period to 265 billion yen from 155 billion yen.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, the current account surplus narrowed to 1.101 trillion yen in December. Exports fell 0.2 per cent from November and imports climbed 1.5 per cent.
The current account tracks the flow of goods, services and investment income between Japan and its trading partners. It includes trade not shown in the customs-cleared balance. BLOOMBERG
