Japans current account surplus widens on large investment gains

　　div classBodysc17zpet90 cdBBJodivpBy Tetsushi Kajimotop

　　pTOKYO Reuters – Japans current account surplus widened in March, finance ministry data showed on Thursday, easing some concerns about dwindling balance of payment as hefty gains in investment incomes more than offset surging fuel costs.pdivdivdiv classBodysc17zpet90 cdBBJodiv

　　pJapan‘s current account surplus stood at 2.55 trillion yen 19.68 billion in March, the data showed, up 69 billion yen and marking the first annual gain since last July, the data showed. It compared with economists’ median forecast for a surplus of 1.75 trillion yen in a Reuters poll.p

　　pHigher oil import costs offset gains in investment income, with continuing uncertainty due to the Ukraine crisis and COVID19 pandemic, data showed on Thursday.p

　　pThe current account data underscored the reliance of Japans resourcepoor economy on imports of raw materials, which have been boosted by the yen weakening, pushing the trade balance into deficit.p

　　pThe data also highlights the change in Japans economic structure as the country earns hefty returns from its past investments in securities and direct investment overseas, which have replaced trade as the main driver of its current account surplus in recent years.p

　　pFor the whole of fiscal 2021, Japan ran a current account surplus of 12.6 trillion yen, down 3.6 trillion yen from the previous year, while the trade balance turned to a deficit due to rising fuel costs, it showed.p

　　pAlthough a weak yen also helped inflate the cost of imports, its boost to export volumes was not as great as it once was due to an ongoing shift of exporters production abroad.p

　　p1 129.5900 yen