Japan Trade Surplus Y248.299 Billion In August

TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - Japan had a merchandise trade surplus of 248.299 billion yen in August, the Ministry of Finance said on Wednesday.

That was well above expectations for a deficit of 37.5 billion following the 11.6 billion yen surplus in July.

Exports were down 14.8 percent on year to 5.232 trillion yen, beating forecasts for a fall of 16.1 percent after sinking 19.2 percent in the previous month.

Imports tumbled an annual 20.8 percent to 4.984 trillion yen versus expectations for a fall of 18.0 percent following the 22.3 percent decline a month earlier.

Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX