Japan current account surplus narrows sharply to ¥2,278.1 billion in March
Japan's current account surplus decreased sharply to ¥ 2,278.1 billion in March 2022 from ¥3,235.3 billion in the same month a year earlier.
While marking the second straight month of surplus in the current account, the latest reading came below market expectations of a gain of ¥2,947.3 billion as the surplus of primary income fell to ¥3,361.0 billion from ¥3,891.4 billion in the prior year.
At the same time, the shortfall of secondary income increased to ¥570.3 billion from ¥415.7 billion.
Meanwhile, the deficit of goods account jumped to ¥454.4 billion from ¥149.9 billion a year ago, with exports growing by 3.6 percent year-on-year while imports rising at a faster 7.1%.
Further, the gap in services account narrowed to ¥0.58 billion from ¥0.90 billion.
In fiscal 2022 ended March 31, the country’s current account surplus shrank to ¥9.23 trillion, down 54.2% from the previous year.