Japan had a trade surplus of 70.7 billion yen (898 million dollars) in June, the first in three months, in a strong sign of recovery from the March earthquake and tsunami, officials said Thursday, DPA reported.
The surplus, however, was 89 per cent lower than a year earlier and was recorded despite a 1.6-per-cent, year-on-year fall in exports.
The exports decrease was the lowest in four months, and on a month-to-month basis, exports rose 5.4 per cent on a seasonally adjusted basis, the fastest since the March 11 disaster, which closed factories and disrupted manufacturers' supply chains.
Imports rose 9.8 per cent from the same month a year ago in the world's third-largest economy.
A fall in exports in April and May led to a trade deficit of 895.5 billion yen in the first six months of the year.
Exports were down 3 per cent for the period, compared with a year earlier, and imports climbed 10.9 per cent.