— Japan FY09 Current Account Surplus Y15.65 Trln, +26.9% Y/Y

TOKYO (MNI) – Japan’s current account balance showed a surplus of
Y2.534 trillion in March on recovering exports, up from a surplus of
Y1.535 trillion a year earlier when the economy was crawling out of the
global recession that hit car and electronics makers, the Ministry of
Finance said on Thursday.

The March current account surplus came in higher than the consensus
call of a Y2.159 trillion surplus. It rose 65.1% from a year earlier and
followed a surplus of Y1.471 trillion in February this year.

For the whole of fiscal 2009 that ended in March, Japan’s current
account surplus grew by 26.9% to Y15.65 trillion after shrinking 49.7%
to Y12.34 trillion in fiscal 2008. The income account shrank but still
totaled Y11.96 trillion, the bulk of the overall surplus.

Exports fell 18.0% year on year to Y55.54 trillion in fiscal 2009
but imports slumped at a faster pace of 26.5% to Y48.93 trillion,
leading to a trade surplus of Y6.61 trillion, which was up 470.2% from a
surplus of Y1.16 trillion in fiscal 2008.

In June 2009, the current account surplus showed its first
year-on-year gain in 16 months, a 171.3% rise to a surplus of Y1.279
trillion.

The balance has been recovering from the record deficit of Y132.7
billion posted in January 2009, which had been the first shortfall in 13
years.

In March this year, the trade balance showed a surplus of Y1.07
trillion, up by a record year-on-year rise of 745.4% from a surplus of
just Y127.1 billion a year earlier. It was also up from a surplus of
Y778.0 billion in the previous month.

Exports rose 45.4% year on year to Y5.71 trillion in March after
surging by a record 47.3% to Y4.87 trillion in February (the largest
gain under the current formula dating back to 1986).

It was the fourth straight year-on-year rise after posting the
first year-on-year gain in 15 months in December 2009, when exports rose
11.8%.

Exports have recovered from the record 50.5% plunge in February
2009.

On a customs-cleared basis from the MOF’s monthly trade data
released last month, the rise in exports was led by automobiles (+110.8%
y/y in March), semiconductors (+55.9%) and auto parts (+86.1%)

Imports increased 22.0% year-on-year to Y4.63 trillion, posting the
third consecutive y/y gain after +31.6% in February and recovering from
the record 44.9% drop hit in February 2009.

On a customs-cleared basis, the import rise was led by petroleum
(+68.9% y/y in March), nonferrous metals (+86.4%) and semiconductors
(+47.2%).

The price of crude oil surged 72.1% from a year earlier to $76.42 a
barrel in March while the Japanese currency appreciated by 7.5% from a
year before to an average Y90.52 to the dollar during the month.

The services account — including transport, travel and financial
services — posted a surplus of Y14.4 billion in March, down from a
surplus of Y27.0 billion a year earlier.

The combined goods and services accounts were in surplus by Y1.09
trillion in March, up by 606.8% from a surplus of Y154.1 billion marked
a year before.

The income account posted a surplus of Y1.65 trillion, down from a
surplus of Y1.699 trillion a year earlier. The net balance for direct
investment income fell from a year before while that for portfolio
investment income rose.

tokyo@marketnews.com
** Market News International Tokyo Newsroom: 81-3-5408-4833 **

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