"A weaker yen provides support for Japanese exports"
- Long Hanhua Wang, an economist at Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc.
Japan's current account surplus increased to the highest level in a year as weaker Yen brightened the outlook for exporters. Japan posted a second consecutive current account surplus of 1.25 trillion yen in March after three straight months of deficit, according to the Ministry of Finance. The reading overshot economists expectations of 1.22 trillion yen surplus. Sustaining a current account surplus might help to boost confidence in the country's finances as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe struggles with a debt burden, which is more than twice the size of the nation's economy.
"The currency's depreciation is buoying Japan's income from overseas investment at a pretty solid pace," said Long Hanhua Wang, an economist at Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc. "A weaker yen provides support for Japanese exports."
"Exports are expected to grow slowly while imports won't rise explosively, given the recent falls in oil and commodity prices," said Takahiro Sekido, Japan strategy of Global Markets Research at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ. "Altogether, the current account surplus is expected to increase gradually," he said.
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