Japan`s Current Account Surplus Down 48.8 Pct in March

Tokyo, May 13 (Jiji Press)--Japan's current account surplus in
March fell 48.8 pct from a year before to 1,485.6 billion yen, the Finance
Ministry said Wednesday.
The surplus was bigger than a median forecast of 1,204.2 billion
yen among 13 research institutions polled by Jiji Press.
The nation's goods and services trade surplus, measured on an
international balance of payment basis, plunged 91.7 pct to 98.7 billion
yen, the ministry said in a preliminary report.
In goods trade, Japan's surplus decreased 89.3 pct to 132.9 billion
yen. Exports were down 46.5 pct to 3,929.8 billion yen, and imports were
down 37.8 pct to 3,796.9 billion yen.
The income account surplus totaled 1,704.1 billion yen, compared
with the year-before surplus of 1,959.3 billion yen.
In fiscal 2008, which ended in March, Japan's current account
surplus totaled 12,229.1 billion yen, down 50.2 pct from the previous year,
posting the first decline in seven years.
The country's goods and services trade ran a deficit of 1,002.5
billion yen, against the prior year's surplus of 9,090.2 billion yen. This
marked the first deficit since fiscal 1985.