Japan posted a current account surplus of 900.8 billion yen in December, the Ministry of Finance said in a preliminary report on Monday - up 452.8 percent on year.

That came in below analyst expectations for a surplus of 1.011 trillion yen following the 1.103 trillion yen surplus in November.

The trade balance showed a surplus of 631.2 billion yen - below expectations for a surplus of 669.4 billion yen after the 490.6 billion yen surplus in the previous month.

The trade balance was 631.2 billion yen, up from 490.6 billion in November. Imports were down 6.0 percent on year to 4.496 trillion yen after plunging an annual 18.2 percent to 4.213 trillion yen in the previous month. Exports jumped an annual 11.7 percent to 5.127 trillion yen after falling an annual 7.0 percent to 4.704 trillion yen a month earlier.

Goods and services came in at 505.0 billion yen, up from 439.5 billion yen in November.

Seasonally adjusted, the current account surplus was 1.100.5 trillion yen - again missing forecasts for a 1.250 trillion yen surplus after the 1.304 trillion yen surplus a month earlier.

Also on Monday, the Bank of Japan said that bank lending in Japan was down 1.7 percent on year in January, following a 1.2 percent annual contraction in December.

Including trusts, bank lending was down 1.5 percent on year after falling an annual 1.0 percent in the previous month.

Adjusted for special items, lending was down 1.4 percent on year after the 0.9 percent annual contraction a month earlier.

Lending from foreign banks plunged 33.0 percent on year after falling a revised 36.9 percent on year a month earlier.

Finally, the central bank said that the M2 money stock plus CDs was up 2.9 percent on year in January, standing at 766.5 trillion yen. That was slightly below analyst expectations for a 3.0 percent annual increase following the revised 3.1 percent annual gain in December.

The M3 money stock climbed 2.1 percent on year to 1,066 trillion yen - again, roughly in line with expectations for a 2.2 percent annual increase after the 2.2 percent annual gain a month earlier.

Seasonally adjusted at an annualized rate, M2 was up 2.8 percent, while M3 added 1.9 percent.

The L money stock was up 1.2 percent on year.