Jan current account logs biggest deficit on record
Record trade deficit due to import gains overwhelming exports
Primary income surplus helps ease current account deficit

TOKYO, March 8 Reuters Japan logged its largest current account deficit ever in January as a combination of global slowdown and China39;s Lunar New Year holidays undermined the country39;s ability to earn from trade.

The trade balance, a part of the current account, also hit a record deficit.

The current account deficit, at 1.98 trillion yen 14.43 billion, was more than double a median market forecast of 818.4 billion yen. It was the biggest on record, the government said, reporting the figures on Wednesday.

January was the second straight month in which the current account balance was weaker than a year earlier, the Ministry of Finance data showed, illustrating Japan39;s waning strength in international trade.

But the primary income balance, another element of the current account, rose 350 billion yen from a year earlier to a 2.29 trillion yen surplus in January, driven by interest received from its investment in foreign securities.

That reflected the trend in which the country is increasingly earning income from capital parked abroad rather than by sales of goods and services.

The trade deficit, 3.18 trillion yen, was the largest since relevant data became available in 1996, the statistics showed.

The data pushed the dollar to 137.49 yen, its highest level since midDecember. That added to a…