Japan's trade surplus falls 37.5% in August

Japan's trade surplus dropped 37.5 percent in August from a year earlier, the government said Monday.

The trade balance posted a surplus of 103.2 billion yen (about 1.2 billion dollars), the first fall since May 2009, according to the report of the Finance Ministry.

Imports climbed 17.9 percent to 5.12 trillion yen (about 58 billion U.S. dollars), marking the eighth consecutive month of increase. Exports grew 15.8 percent to 5.22 trillion yen (about 60 billion U.S. dollars), the ninth straight monthly gain.

The figures are measured on a customs-cleared basis before adjustments for seasonal factors, Kyodo News reported.
(Source:xinhua)