Japan's current account surplus plunged 65.9 percent from a year earlier due to global economic recession and dwindling exports, government statistics said on Tuesday.

Japan posted a surplus of 581.2 billion yen (US$6.5 billion) in November, the broadest gauge of Japan's trade with the rest of the world, the Finance Ministry said in a preliminary report.

The balance of trade in goods and services registered a deficit of 184.2 billion yen, remaining in red for the second straight month.

Merchandise trade also fell into the red for the first time in three months, logging a deficit of 93.4 billion yen.

Exports fell 26.5 percent to 5,623.0 billion yen as Japan's shipments to all major markets in the United States, the European Union and the rest of Asia declined from a year earlier.

Imports were also down 13.7 percent to 5,155.7 billion yen, marking a decline for the first time since September 2007.

The current account balance is the difference between a country's income from foreign sources and foreign obligations payable, excluding net capital investment.

(Xinhua News Agency January 13, 2009)