Japan's current account surplus slumped to ¥116.4B ($1.14B) in March from ¥612.7B in February and badly missed consensus of ¥347.7B, hurt by weak exports and rising imports ahead of a hike in sales tax in April. For the fiscal year, the surplus was ¥789.9B, the lowest on record. There have been fears that Japan's current account could slide into permanent deficit, which could weaken confidence in the country's massive debt.