国际英语新闻：Japan's trade surplus expands for 7th consecutive month

TOKYO, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- Japan's trade surplus expanded for the 7th straight month in August to 184.7 billion yen (2.03 billion U.S. dollars), compared with a deficit of 314.2 billion yen (3.45 billion dollars) a year earlier, said the finance ministry on Thursday.

    A sharp fall in imports was a key factor behind the trade surplus expansion, according to the ministry.

    The world second largest economy's exports shrank for the 11th straight month, down by 36.0 percent year-on-year to 4,511.1 billion yen (49.57 billion dollars), while imports contracted for the 10 months in a row, down by 41.3 percent to 4,325.4 billion yen (47.53 billion dollars), said the ministry in a preliminary report.

    In terms of regions, Japan's trade surplus with the United States fell for the 24th straight month, down by 26.7 percent year-on-year to 272.9 billion yen (3.0 billion dollars).

    With the rest of Asia, the figure dropped for the 12th straight month, down by 30.2 percent to 695.0 billion yen (7.64 billion dollars).

    And the nation's trade surplus with the EU posted the 12th monthly decline, plummeting by 86.5 percent to 44.8 billion yen (492.30 million dollars).

    The trade data, measured on a customs-cleared basis, have yet to be adjusted for seasonal factors.