Japan's current account surplus logged a surprising surge to mark a record for November, as weakness in the yen drove income gains from portfolio investment and direct investment overseas to their highest level for the month.

The surplus came in at ¥1.8 trillion ($13.7 billion), more than three times the median forecast of economists in a Reuters poll, also helped by an easing in the trade deficit.

It is the first time in eight months that Japan saw a year-on-year surplus expansion in the current account, one of the widest gauges of international trade, with the November figure up 16.4%.