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Japan falls into large US$2.5 billion November current account deficitAFP TOKYO -- Japan fell into a huge US$2.5 billion current account deficit in November as exports to China and debt-hit Europe slumped, official data showed Friday.
January 12, 2013, 12:00 am TWN The world's third-largest economy logged a 222.4-billion-yen (US$2.5 billion) shortfall in the current account, the broadest measure of Japan's trade with the rest of the world, reversing a year-earlier surplus of 126.1 billion yen. The yen plunged to a more than two-year low on the dollar Friday as the poor data ramped up expectations of more easing by the Bank of Japan when it holds a policy meeting this month. Economists had expected a much smaller 33.5-billion-yen monthly deficit, Dow Jones Newswires reported, and the latest figures marked the second-biggest deficit on record after January 2012. It was also the first time Japan has logged a current account deficit in any month other than January, when trade tends to slow over New Year holidays. |
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