Tokyo- Japan logged a customs-cleared trade surplus of 481.7 billion yen in April, staying in the black for the third straight month, the Finance Ministry said Monday.

But the figure was down from the year-before surplus of 811.3 billion yen, reflecting sharp increases in imports of crude oil and coal.

As rising crude oil prices have continued to push up the value of Japan's overall imports, a ministry official said the movement of crude oil prices will be a key point for the country's future trade balance.

Japan's exports in April grew 7.5 percent from a year earlier to 6,329.2 billion yen, buoyed by brisk shipments of steel products and chipmaking equipment.

Imports jumped 15.1 percent to 5,847.5 billion yen, as purchases of crude oil from Saudi Arabia and those of coal from Australia went up. (Jiji Press)