6 February 2004, 09:21 Japan Dec current account surplus seen up 62.4 pct
TOKYO, Feb 6 - Japan's current account surplus
probably rose in December from a year earlier as strong exports
boosted the trade surplus and a decrease in overseas travel left
the services account deficit largely unchanged, a poll by
journalists showed on Friday.
The 25 economists surveyed produced a median forecast of a
surplus of 1.4008 trillion yen ($13.24 billion), a rise of 62.4
percent from a year ago. Forecasts ranged from 1.2200 trillion to
1.5550 trillion yen.
"The momentum of increases in capital goods exports to China
remains strong, and exports to Europe are firm because of the
strong euro, meaning a big rise in the trade surplus," said
Kazuhiro Oshima, an economist at Mitsubishi Research Institute.
"At the same time the services deficit will be largely flat
as a result of sluggish overseas travel in the wake of SARS and
terror concerns," said Oshima, who forecast a 71.6 percent rise
in the current account surplus//
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