Japan's trade surplus up 9.3pc in May

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TOKYO, June 21 (AFP): Japan's trade surplus rose 9.3 per cent from a year earlier to 389.5 billion yen (3.15 billion dollars) in May on strong exports of cars and steel, the government said today.
Exports expanded 15.1 per cent to 6.57 trillion yen while imports rose 15.5 per cent to 6.18 trillion yen, the Japanese finance ministry said.
The trade surplus expanded for the seventh straight month, but the increase was below the market forecast of a 24.9 per cent year-on-year rise to 445.1 billion yen.
Automobile exports rose 16.8 per cent to 1.07 trillion yen while steel exports jumped 31.8 per cent to 353.26 billion yen, it said.
Imports of nonferrous metal rose 67.8 per cent to 215.13 billion yen, while imports of telecommunications machinery jumped 176.4 per cent to 94.03 billion yen.