Japan Logs Trade Surplus of 285.4 B. Yen in Oct.

Tokyo, Nov. 20 (Jiji Press)--Japan logged a customs-cleared trade surplus of 285.4 billion yen in October, down 40.7 pct from a year earlier, the Finance Ministry said Monday. The surplus amount fell short of the median forecast of 330 billion yen in a Jiji Press survey of 20 research institutes. Exports rose 14.0 pct to 6,693.1 billion yen, while imports grew a faster 18.9 pct to 6,407.7 billion yen, the ministry said in a preliminary report. In trade with the United States, Japan's surplus expanded 11.3 pct to 644.7 billion yen, with exports up 7.1 pct and imports up 3.1 pct. With mainland China, Japan posted a goods trade deficit of 265.7 billion yen, compared with the year-before deficit of 342.7 billion yen. Exports jumped 26.0 pct, while imports expanded 14.3 pct.Copyright JIJI PRESS LTD.