July 23, 2009
Japan trade surplus
Japan's trade surplus shrank 99.7 pct in the first half of 2009 from a year ago to 8.32 billion yen (88.5 million U.S. dollars) due to the global financial crisis, the Finance Ministry said Thursday.
In June, the world's second largest economy posted a trade surplus of 508.00 billion yen, marking the first rise in 20 months from year-earlier levels, according to the ministry.
It was Japan's fifth straight monthly surplus. Exports fell 35.7 percent from a year earlier to 4,599.98 billion yen, while imports shrank 41.9 percent to 4,091.97 billion yen, the ministry said in a preliminary report.
Trade figures are measured on a customs-cleared basis before adjustments for seasonal factors. (1 U.S. dollar is equivalent to 94 yen)