TOKYO, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Japan's current account surplus contacted for the first time in eight months in January owing to a rebound in crude oil prices and a widening trade deficit, the Finance Ministry said Wednesday,
According to the ministry, the surplus in one of the widest gauges of a country's international trade stood at 65.5 billion yen (575 million U.S. dollars) in the reporting period.
Japan has logged a current account surplus for the 31st month in a row, the ministry said.
With the value of goods being imported growing more than those being exported, the goods trade registered a deficit of 853.4 billion yen, the ministry's preliminary data showed. Shipments from Japan may have also been impacted by the Lunar New Year holiday.
Crude oil imports jumped 35.7 percent in the reporting month, while coal imports surged 52.3 percent in value, the ministry's latest report showed.
Japan is still heavily reliant on oil imports, owing to most of the nation's nuclear power stations still being offline following the world's worst commercial nuclear disaster in Fukushima in 2011.
The finance ministry said the surplus in the primary income account, which reflects how much Japan earns from foreign investments, contracted 5.4 percent to 1.27 trillion yen in the recording period.
Japan's primary account reveals the amount Japan earns from its investments made overseas.
Japan's current account surplus, however, is one of the the broadest measure of its trade with the rest of the world and the data is keenly eyed by the Bank of Japan (BOJ) and the finance ministry ahead of new potential policy changes or monetary easing or tapering measures.
In Japan, the current account surplus increases the nation's net foreign assets by the corresponding amount, and a current account deficit does the reverse.
Both the Japanese government and private payments are included in the calculation and it is called the current account because goods and services are generally consumed in the current period.
Positive net sales by Japan abroad generally contributes to a current account surplus and because exports generate positive net sales.
The trade balance is typically the largest component of the current account and a current account surplus is usually associated with positive net exports.
