Japan posts 1st trade surplus in nearly 3 yrs in March

Japan's exports exceeded imports in March for the first time in nearly three years, government data showed Wednesday.

The trade surplus was 229.3 billion yen (about 1.9 billion U.S. dollars), the finance ministry said in a preliminary report, adding the crude oil price's decline was the main cause.

The value of exports was up 8.5 percent to 6,927.4 billion yen, up for the seventh straight month, led by increased exports of automobiles and semiconductors, said the ministry.

Meanwhile, imports dropped 14.5 percent to 6,698.1 billion yen, marking the third consecutive monthly drop, affected by decreased imports of oil-related products as well as liquefied natural gas.

For the whole fiscal year 2014 that ended in March, the country logged a trade deficit of 9.13 trillion yen, remaining in the red ink for four straight years. But the level was lower than a record deficit posted in the previous year of 13.76 trillion yen.