Japan posts first trade surplus in three months

July 21, 2011 | 10:00

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Japan posted a surprise trade surplus of $897 million in June, the government said Thursday as the nation recovers from the devastating impact of the March earthquake and tsunami.

Japan logged 70.7 billion yen ($897 million) in trade surplus in June, about a tenth of the year-before surplus but the first black ink in three months, data from the finance ministry showed.

Economists had on average expected a deficit of 148.6 billion yen, according to a poll by Dow Jones Newswires and the Nikkei business daily.

Exports totalled 5.78 trillion yen, down 1.6 per cent from a year earlier. It was a much smaller drop compared with falls of 10.3 per cent in May and 12.4 per cent in April.

With its biggest trading partner China, Japan scored a 1.2 per cent rise in exports.

Overall imports rose 9.8 per cent to 5.71 trillion yen due to higher oil and other commodity prices, extending their rising streak to an 18th consecutive month.

The 9.0 earthquake and following massive tsunami on March 11 devastated Japan's northeast, causing massive production disruption and sending shipments of cars and other key export products plunging.

Shattered supply chains have been recovering fast although power shortages after the tsunami crippled a nuclear power plant have forced utilities to buy more fossil fuel for thermal power generation.

AFP

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