Japan's current account balance fell into the red in January for the first time in three years on the combination of growing imports and slowing exports, government data showed Thursday, with officials saying the situation was largely due to temporary effects.
The deficit in the balance, one of the widest gauges of international trade for a country and an influence on the currency market, stood at ¥437.3 billion, the biggest among comparable data available since 1985, the Finance Ministry said in a preliminary report. It was Japan's fifth current account deficit on record.
The country last logged a similar deficit in January 2009 when exports fell significantly amid the global economic downturn following the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. in September 2008.