Japan April Trade Surplus at 626 B. Yen, Up 30.9 Pct

May 21, 2018

Tokyo- Japan logged a customs-cleared trade surplus of 626.0 billion yen in April, up 30.9 pct from a year before, the Ministry of Finance said Monday.

The result outpaced the median forecast of a surplus of 411.1 billion yen in a Jiji Press poll of 19 research institutes.

Exports rose 7.8 pct to 6,822.3 billion yen, and imports grew 5.9 pct to 6,196.3 billion yen, the ministry said in a preliminary report.

In trade with the United States, Japan's surplus expanded 4.7 pct to 615.7 billion yen, with exports up 4.3 pct and imports up 3.9 pct.

In trade with mainland China, Japan posted a deficit of 145.8 billion yen, shrinking from the year-before deficit of 244.0 billion yen. Exports rose 10.9 pct, and imports increased 2.2 pct. Jiji Press