Japan's current account logs 1.14 trillion yen in surplus in November

Japan's current account logged a surplus of 1.14 trillion yen (about 9.72 billion U.S. dollars) in November for the 17th straight month in the positive territory largely on poor crude oil prices, according to the Finance Ministry here on Tuesday.

Goods trade, one of the key components in the account, posted a deficit of 271.5 billion yen, with exports falling 6.3 percent on year and imports sliding 10.9 percent.

The value of crude oil imports shed about 40.9 percent as average oil prices declined 47.7 percent to 47.48 dollars per barrel in the month, while the value of liquefied natural gas imports also dropped 41.5 percent.

Japan has been relying heavily on energy imports since the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011 and most of the country's commercial reactors remain offline thereafter amid public concern about their safety.

The surplus in the primary income account jumped 21.2 percent to 1.54 trillion yen due to an increase in profits from direct and securities investments, according to the ministry.

It said that the service balance posted a surplus of 61.5 billion yen, as the travel surplus expanded about fourfold to 98.5 billion yen on the yen's depreciation. Endit