Japan's current account surplus dropped 34.3 percent in March from a year earlier, data from the Ministry of Finance (MOF) showed Thursday.

The current account surplus stood at 1.679 trillion yen (20.7 billion U.S. dollars), in the recording period, the government said, with the figure following a 3.0 percent rise at 1.641 trillion yen (19.32 billion U.S. dollars) logged in February, according to the official figures.

The drop was above that expected by median market forecasts and the ministry attributed the decline to falling exports caused by factories and supply chains being damaged by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

The ministry data also showed the income balance stood at a surplus of 1.535 trillion yen in March, down 8.0 percent from a year earlier.

The consensus among economists is for the surplus to continue to drop as exports continue to fall and imports rise as large amounts of resources and commodities will be needed from abroad for the reconstruction efforts in the coming months.

But economists do not foresee the current account surplus falling into deficit however as income from overseas investments remain robust.

VietNamNet/Xinhuanet