10:12, 10 May 2012 | GMT +6

Japan's FY 2011 current account surplus falls sharpest on record

TOKYO. May 10. KAZINFORM Japan's current account surplus marked the sharpest ever fall in fiscal 2011 on the combination of slower exports and growing imports, affected by the stronger yen as well as higher crude oil and other commodity prices, the government said Thursday.

The balance of payments, considered to be the widest gauge of international trade for a country, came to 7,893.4 billion yen (about $99 billion) for the 12 months which ended in March, down 52.6 percent from the previous year -- the largest decline among comparable data available since fiscal 1985. The level of surplus itself was also the lowest in 15 years, Kyodo reports.

Exports lost 2.8 percent to 62,627.2 billion yen, the first fall in two years, while imports gained 14.0 percent to 66,076.7 billion yen for the second straight yearly growth, the Finance Ministry said in a preliminary report. The balance of goods trade showed a deficit of 3,449.5 billion yen, the biggest among comparable figures available since fiscal 1972.