Trade surplus sinks 46.3% as imports slim gap with EU

Japan's trade surplus fell 46.3 percent in April from a year earlier to ¥485.0 billion for the second monthly slip, as growth in imports on continued surges in energy prices outpaced the rise in exports, the Finance Ministry said Thursday.

The surplus with the European Union narrowed for the first time in nine months on slower exports to the 27-nation bloc, the ministry said in a preliminary report.

In global trade, Japan's exports rose 4.0 percent to ¥6.9 trillion for the 53rd consecutive monthly gain, while imports climbed 11.9 percent to ¥6.41 trillion, up for the seventh straight month.

The export growth was supported by robust luxury car shipments to emerging economies, including Saudi Arabia and Russia. The advance in imports was attributed to a 55.0 percent surge in crude oil, a 65.8 percent jump in liquefied natural gas and a 51.1 percent leap in coal.

In April, the average price of oil hit yet another all-time high of $100.7 a barrel, up 65.4 percent from the previous year, renewing the record-high level for the seventh consecutive month.

By region, the trade surplus with the U.S. narrowed 11.5 percent to ¥577.6 billion, with exports sinking 9.1 percent to ¥1.22 trillion for the eighth month of decline.

Japan's trade surplus with the EU shrank 3.2 percent to ¥406.4 billion, the first decline in nine months.