Japan February Trade Surplus Y57.269 Billion

(RTTNews) - Japan posted a seasonally adjusted merchandise trade surplus of 57.296 billion yen in February, the Ministry of Finance said on Wednesday.

That exceeded expectations for a deficit of 485.0 billion yen following the downwardly revised 1.163 trillion yen shortfall in January (originally a deficit of 1.152 trillion yen).

Exports rose 4.2 percent on year to 9.571 trillion yen - beating forecasts for an increase of 1.6 percent and slowing from 16.8 percent in the previous month.

Imports rose an annual 10.2 percent versus expectations for 11.5 percent following the 2.6 percent contraction a month earlier.