Japan Current Account Surplus Widens to Record (Update4)

Japan's current account surplus widened to a record in March, as exports to Asia and Europe helped counter slower growth in shipments to the U.S.

The surplus expanded 36.9 percent to 3.32 trillion yen ($28 billion) from a year earlier, the Ministry of Finance said in Tokyo today, more than the 2.95 trillion yen median estimate of 28 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.

Today's report supports comments made this month by Asian finance ministers that growth in India and China will help the region withstand a slowdown in the U.S. and Europe. Japan's exports to China, which overtook the U.S. as its largest trade partner last year, surged 15 percent to a record in March.

``Strong growth in Asia proves Japan's economy can withstand a U.S. slowdown,'' said Mamoru Yamazaki, chief Japan economist at RBS Securities Japan Ltd. in Tokyo. ``The current account surplus will keep expanding as exports and overseas investments remain solid.''

The yen traded at 120.19 per dollar at 1:37 p.m. in Tokyo compared with 120.11 before the report. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 1 percent, led by exporters such as Sony Corp.

The trade surplus surged 62.1 percent, the fastest pace in three years, to a record, the Finance Ministry said.

Exports rose 9.6 percent, as a weaker yen increased the value of shipments. Japan's currency has fallen 8.5 percent against the dollar and 13 percent per euro in the past 12 months.

Weaker Yen

``Yen depreciation has been a major support for Japanese corporations and, together with gradually strengthening domestic demand, is helping to underpin Japan's economic expansion,'' said Takuji Aida, chief Japan economist at Barclays Capital in Tokyo.

Imports fell 1 percent, the first drop in three years, as oil prices were lower than a year earlier and Japan received fewer shipments from countries that observe the Lunar New Year.

The current account tracks the flow of goods, services and investment income between Japan and its trading partners. It includes trade not shown in the customs-cleared trade balance, which the Finance Ministry also compiles.

Exports to China and Europe rose to a record in March on a customs-cleared basis, the ministry said last month. Shipments to Europe climbed 14 percent, while those to the U.S., Japan's largest export market, rose 2.4 percent, the slowest pace in two years.

The U.S. slowdown will probably begin to bite more later this year. Toyota Motor Corp. last week forecast the smallest profit gain in a decade because of waning demand in the U.S.

Income Surplus

The income surplus, or the difference between money earned abroad and payments made to foreign workers and investors in Japan, increased 13.2 percent to a record in March, today's report showed.

Revenue from direct investment rose to a record as Japanese companies' overseas units distributed dividends at home at the end of the fiscal year, Masami Oka, special officer for balance of payments, said at a press briefing today.

``Companies are investing overseas because of a low interest rate in Japan,'' said Noriaki Haseyama, an economist at Dai-Ichi Life Research in Tokyo. Revenue from foreign equities, bonds and debt securities accounts for about 80 percent of the income gap.

The Bank of Japan will keep the overnight lending rate at 0.5 percent at a two-day meeting ending on May 17, according to the median estimate of all 48 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. The key rate is the lowest among major economies.

Japan's wholesale inflation accelerated in April as the cost of oil and other commodities rose, the Bank of Japan said today. An index of energy and raw materials prices paid by companies climbed 2.2 percent in April from a year earlier after increasing 2 percent in March, the Bank of Japan said.

Bank of Japan

``We are starting to see signs that price pressures are slowly emerging,'' said Seiji Adachi, a senior economist at Deutsche Securities Inc. in Tokyo. ``There aren't any major hurdles for the Bank of Japan to raise rates. They will probably move in August or September.''

The current account surplus rose to a record in the 12 months ended March 31, a fifth straight year of gains, the Finance Ministry said. The income surplus exceeded the trade surplus for a second year.

``Japan's economy depends more on revenues from overseas investment than earnings from exports,'' RBS's Yamazaki said.

To contact the reporter on this story Toru Fujioka in Tokyo at