The current account surplus shrank for the ninth straight month in November, down 65.9 percent from a year earlier, with merchandise trade sinking into the red due to dwindling exports amid the global economic slowdown, the government said Tuesday.
The surplus in the current account, the broadest gauge of Japan's trade with the rest of the world, amounted to ¥581.2 billion, the Finance Ministry said in a preliminary report.
"The figures show that the worldwide slump in exports and trade is accelerating," said Hideo Kumano, chief economist at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute.
"It's hard to forecast where the bottom will be and the pace of decline may continue throughout the first half of this year," he said.
The balance of trade in goods and services posted a deficit of ¥184.2 billion, posting red ink for the second straight month.
Merchandise trade fell into the red for the first time in three months, logging a deficit of ¥93.4 billion.
Exports dropped 26.5 percent to ¥5.06 trillion, the fastest pace of decline since comparable data became available in 1985.
Japanese shipments to all major markets in the United States, the European Union and Asia declined sharply from a year earlier, particularly with exports in vehicles, auto parts and semiconductors all falling around 30 percent.
Imports were down 13.7 percent to ¥5.16 trillion, marking a decline for the first time since September 2007 as value-based imports from the Middle East fell 28.9 percent and those from the European Union declined 20.8 percent.
Imports of crude and raw oil plummeted 35.2 percent after the average price of crude in November fell 9.3 percent from a year earlier to $73.67 a barrel.