TOKYO - JAPAN'S current account surplus shrank 65.9 per cent in November from a year earlier as exports slumped due to weak demand in recession-hit overseas economies, official figures showed on Tuesday.

Asia's largest economy posted a surplus of 581.2 billion yen (S$9.7 billion) in its current account, the broadest measure of trade in goods and services, according to the finance ministry.

Japan, which is in the midst of its first recession in seven years, logged a trade deficit of 93.4 billion yen, against a surplus of 907.6 billion yen a year earlier, the figures showed.

Exports dropped 26.5 per cent by value to 5.06 trillion yen due to falling shipments to the United States, the European Union and Asia.

Imports declined 13.7 percent to 5.16 trillion yen, the first drop in 14 months, as a result of falling oil prices.

Historically, Japan has run a large surplus in its current account thanks to brisk exports of cars, electronics and other goods.

But it has seen the surplus decline steadily in recent months as the global economic crisis prompts consumers to tighten their purse strings. -- AFP