2019.03.0719:10:00UTC+00Japan Has Y600.4 Billion Current Account Surplus

Japan posted a current account surplus of 600.4 billion yen in January, the Ministry of Finance said on Friday - up 1.4 percent from a year earlier.

That beat expectations for a surplus of 161.0 billion yen and was up from 452.8 billion yen in December.

The trade balance showed a deficit of 964.8 billion yen, which also topped forecasts for a deficit of 1,152.4 billion yen following the 216.2 billion yen surplus in the previous month.

Exports were down 6.7 percent on year in January, while imports eased an annual 1.7 percent.