"Economic fundamentals are sluggish but concerns about weak demand from China are outweighed by expectations that bad data would spur further monetary easing"
- Hiroyuki Kikukawa, general manager at Nihon Unicom
Japanese current account surplus came in at 625.4 billion yen ($8.0 billion) in July, up from 433.3 billion yen in June and despite a 373.6 billion yen trade deficit for the month. Analysts had predicted a surplus of 438.2 billion yen.
"Economic fundamentals are sluggish but concerns about weak demand from China are outweighed by expectations that bad data would spur further monetary easing and other stimulus steps to bolster growth, supporting commodities generally," Hiroyuki Kikukawa, general manager at trading company Nihon Unicom, told Reuters.
In a separate report, the Cabinet Office said Japanese economy grew less than expected in the second quarter. Nation's GDP was revised to an annualized 0.7% from the earlier estimate of 1.4%.
The Nikkei 225 Stock Average erased 0.70 per cent, or 61.99 points, to 8,807.38. The broader Topix Index fell 0.69 per cent, or 5.08, to 732.26.
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