Japan posts current account surplus for 32nd straight month in Feb.

Japan posted a current account surplus of 2.81 trillion yen (25.3 billion U.S. dollars) in February, marking the biggest surplus since March 2016 and a 32nd successive month of black ink, the government said Monday.

The latest reading compared to median analysts expectations for a surplus of 2.62 trillion yen, with the rise attributable to an uptick in exports after the Lunar New Year period.

The latest data series showed that exports to China and other countries in Asia were solid in the recording period, but rising oil prices tempered commodities' imports.

According to the Finance Ministry, among key components in the current account, goods trade registered a surplus of 1.08 trillion yen, bouncing back from a deficit of 853.4 billion yen the previous month.

The primary income account in February was 1.98 trillion yen, up from 1.27 trillion yen a month earlier, the ministry said.

Japan's current account surplus is one of the the broadest measure of its trade with the rest of the world and the data is keenly eyed by the Bank of Japan (BOJ) and the Finance Ministry ahead of new potential policy changes or monetary easing or tapering measures.

Many market insiders believe that due to inflation remaining essentially flat in Japan and economic growth largely stagnant, the central bank may plunge its interest rate further into negative territory or increase the size of its QE program following a policy meeting later this month.

In Japan the current account surplus increases the nation's net foreign assets by the corresponding amount, and a current account deficit does the reverse.

Both the Japanese government and private payments are included in the calculation and it is called the current account because goods and services are generally consumed in the current period. Endit