Japan's current account surplus shrank to its smallest amount on record for the month of August, Finance Ministry data showed Tuesday, with surging prices of energy imports outstripping price rises in exports.
The current account surplus plunged 96.1% from a year earlier to ¥58.9 billion ($404 million) in August.
"What's happening now is a shift of income from commodity-importing nations such as Japan toward commodity-exporters," said Masamichi Adachi, chief economist at UBS Securities. "I think the current account surplus will narrow as trade deficits persist, eroding Japan's purchasing power and making it poorer."