Oct. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Japan’s current-account surplus widened in August as a rebound in global demand helped ease declines in exports.

The surplus widened 10.4 percent to 1.171 trillion yen ($13.2 billion) in August from a year earlier, the Ministry of Finance said in Tokyo today. The median estimate of 22 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was for 1.15 trillion yen.

Renewed demand from China and other emerging nations is helping Japan emerge from its worst postwar recession. Reports last week showed Japanese manufacturers increased output for a sixth month in August and companies became less pessimistic last quarter, bright spots that have offset the yen’s 4 percent advance against the dollar in the past month.

“The economies in Asia and the U.S. have entered a recovery phase and companies are starting to replenish inventory, and that’s supporting Japanese exports,” said Kyohei Morita, chief economist at Barclays Capital in Tokyo. “As long as that recovery continues, exports will probably grow even as the yen rises.”

The yen traded at 88.43 per dollar at 10:49 a.m. in Tokyo from 88.55 before the report. The currency surged to an eight- month high of 88.01 yesterday, threatening to erode exporters’ profits earned abroad and make their products less competitive.

Exports fell 37.1 percent in August from a year earlier, less than a 37.6 percent decline the previous month, the report showed. Imports slid 42.8 percent, more than a 41.2 percent drop in July, in part because oil prices have tumbled from last year’s record highs. From a month earlier, exports rose a seasonally adjusted 3.2 percent.

‘Difficult to Judge’

“Exports are recovering somewhat reasonably, but imports are weak, so it’s difficult to judge the trade balance figures as positive to Japan’s economy,” said Junko Nishioka, chief economist at RBS Securities Japan Ltd. in Tokyo.

Japan’s economy probably grew at an annual 2.3 percent rate in the three months ended September, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Gross domestic product rose at that pace in the second quarter, the first expansion in more than a year. Some $2 trillion in spending by governments worldwide spurred sales for companies from Toyota Motor Corp. to Sharp Corp.

“The pace of the current-account surplus widening could be slower going ahead, but an important point should be that the balance remains a surplus on the back of income earned by trade surplus and investment,” Susumu Kato, chief economist at Calyon Securities in Tokyo.

Production Climbs

Industrial production climbed 1.8 percent in August from a month earlier, capping off the longest stretch of gains in 12 years. The unemployment rate unexpectedly retreated from a record and spending by households rose 2.6 percent from a year earlier, the biggest jump in 19 months.

The Bank of Japan’s quarterly Tankan business survey showed confidence among large manufacturers rose for a second straight quarter from an unprecedented low in March.

Japan’s income surplus, the difference between money earned abroad and payments made to foreign investors in Japan, was 1.06 trillion yen in August, today’s report showed. The figure fell by 24.5 percent from a year earlier as declines in yields globally reduced interest payments on bonds.

The current account tracks the flow of goods, services and investment income between Japan and its trading partners. It includes trade not shown in the customs-cleared balance.

To contact the reporter on this story: Keiko Ujikane in Tokyo at kujikane@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: October 7, 2009 22:00 EDT