Japan's current account surplus increased 8.6 pct from a year earlier to 1.7484 trillion yen in December, pointing an upturn in exports which is adding to an economic recovery driven by domestic demand. This figures were helped by gains from Japanese investments abroad.
Analysts praise this positive tendency: "As this trend will likely continue, we expect Japan's investment income account to continue its uptrend, increasing Japan's current account surplus," said, ведущего экономиста , senior economist at Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management. "So overall, the latest balance of payments data can be interpreted as a sign that the Japanese economy remains on track towards steady and moderate growth," he added.
"The size of the income surplus is approaching that of the trade surplus, and this is a trend worth watching," said Koji Kobayashi, senior economist at Mizuho Research Institute.
With this data on mind, Bank of Japan Governor Toshihiko Fukui said that the central bank needed to shift its five-year-old policy once economic situation is favourable. "We introduced the quantitative easing framework as an abnormal policy by sacrificing interest rate mechanisms when the economy was in crisis," Fukui told a parliamentary committee. "So, once economic conditions are relatively favourable, we need to change it and move to a regular policy of targeting interest rates," he concluded.