Japan posts third straight current account deficit

TOKYO (AFP) - Japan posted its third straight current account deficit in January, as trade losses swelled on the weakening yen and strong energy imports, the government said on Friday.

The shortfall in the current account, the broadest measure of Japan's trade with the rest of the world, came to 364.8 billion yen (S$4.7 billion) in the month, down 19.9 per cent from a year earlier, the finance ministry said.

But the deficit was much smaller than a 626-billion-yen gap expected by economists polled by Dow Jones Newswires and the Nikkei.

The current account measures not only international trade in goods but also services, tourism and Japan's foreign investments abroad.