The current account surplus marked a record low in fiscal 2012 as exports to China and Europe fell and fossil fuel imports rose, the government said Friday.
A record deficit in the global trade of goods and services of ¥9.48 trillion brought the annual current account surplus, one of the widest gauges of international trade, to ¥4.29 trillion in the year that ended March 31, the Finance Ministry said in a preliminary report.
The surplus, the smallest since officials started compiling comparable data in 1985, plunged 43.6 percent from the year before. The previous record low was ¥5.58 trillion, set in fiscal 1990 when crude oil prices spiked against the backdrop of the Persian Gulf crisis after Iraq invaded Kuwait.