Wed, 08 Feb 2012 10:09:25 GMT
Japan faces its first current account shortfall since 1963
Japanese merchandise trade experienced the first yearly deficit in more than a 50 years as the trade gap reached JPY 1.609 trillion. In December, however, the current account surplus broadened to JPY 303.5 billion (USD 3.95 billion) compared to predicted JPY 331.4 billion. Exports lost 7% while imports gained 9.8% in the last month of 2011.