Japan Aug trade surplus 743.2 bln yen, +287.6 pct y/y

Sep 26, 2007 - Japan's trade surplus rose 287.6 percent in August from a year earlier to 743.2 billion yen ($6.47 billion), government data showed on Wednesday.

The figure compared with analysts' median forecast for a 26.6 percent rise in the surplus to 242.8 billion yen.

Exports rose 14.5 percent from a year earlier to 7.0301 trillion yen, compared with economists' median forecast for a 10.7 percent rise, data from the Ministry of Finance showed.

Imports rose 5.7 percent to 6.2869 trillion yen, against the market consensus for a 10.0 percent increase.

Exports to the United States increased 4.6 percent from a year earlier to 1.3897 trillion yen, while those to China increased 23.8 percent to 1.1256 trillion yen.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the overall customs-cleared trade surplus increased 30.4 percent from the previous month to 1.1449 trillion yen, the data showed.