The Wall Street Journal-20080214-Japanese See Trade Surplus Shrink

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Japanese See Trade Surplus Shrink

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TOKYO -- Japan's current-account surplus shrank in December for the first time in a year, adding to worries over the shaky economy.

The surplus in the current account -- the broadest measure of trade in goods, services and investment earnings -- is expected to continue shrinking as the global economy slows.

The current-account surplus shrank 4.7% from a year earlier to 1.697 trillion yen ($15.82 billion), the Finance Ministry said. It was the first decline since December 2006, when the surplus shrank by the same margin.

Economists had forecast a 1.756 trillion yen surplus.

The decline came amid other data suggesting that growth is faltering in Japan, the world's second-largest economy. The global slowdown could further damp foreign investors' appetite for Japanese assets.

A large drop in Japan's trade surplus in goods and services was behind the smaller surplus in the current account, which includes all international transactions, whether public or private. The trade surplus shrank 16.8% to 1.013 trillion yen, sliding for a second straight month. Imports rose 12.5%, beating the 7.1% increase in exports.