Japan's current account surplus down 55.6% in Feb.

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TOKYO, April 8 Kyodo -
Japan's current account surplus shrank 55.6 percent in February from a year
earlier to 1,116.9 billion yen, sinking for the 12th straight month as exports
continued to plunge and the nation's investment returns also kept falling amid
the global economic downturn, the government said Wednesday.
The current account balance -- the broadest gauge of trade -- swung back to the
black after registering a record red-ink figure in January. In February, both
exports and imports posted the largest declines since comparable year-on-year
data became available in January 1986, the Finance Ministry said in a
preliminary report.
The balance of trade in goods and services posted a surplus of 53.0 billion
yen, down 94.3 percent from a year before, but the balance returned to the
black for the first time in five months.
The surplus in merchandise trade fell 80.4 percent from a year earlier for the
16th straight monthly decline to 202.1 billion yen, but the balance saw the
first black figure in four months.
Exports fell 50.4 percent to 3,310.0 billion yen, down for the fifth month in a
row, as shipments of vehicles, semiconductors and auto parts continued to
plummet.
Imports tumbled 44.9 percent to 3,107.9 billion yen, down for the fourth
consecutive month as crude oil prices halved from a year earlier and domestic
demand for import items also waned.
Hideki Matsumura, senior economist at the Japan Research Institute, said the
current account balance returned to the black in February because the red-ink
figure in January was caused mainly by a seasonal factor of plunging exports
during the New Year holidays.
''I believe the latest result shows a basic trend in Japan's current account
balance,'' Matsumura said. ''From now on, I expect the current account surplus
will not continue to decline sharply because imports will fall in line with
receding domestic demand.''
The economist said the yen's relative strength and the global credit turmoil
will continue to trim Japan's income surplus, but deceleration in imports will
enable the country to post a certain amount of current account surplus. But
such a situation ''is not necessarily good for the Japanese economy,'' he
added.
The deficit in services trade expanded 47.2 percent to 149.1 billion yen, with
red-ink figures increasing in the transport and tourism sectors.
The income surplus shed 34.1 percent to 1,104.5 billion yen, as a result of
reduced dividend payments and interests on bonds. The surplus fell 571.0
billion yen from a year before, logging the largest decline in terms of value
on record.
The current account balance is the difference between a country's income from
foreign sources and foreign obligations payable, excluding net capital
investment.
==Kyodo