Japan’s September Trade Surplus Falls Again

Japan’s merchandise trade surplus fell for the third time in the last four months in September as demand for exports slackened with the slowdown of Asia’s economies. The surplus decreased a seasonally adjusted 30.5% in September from August to $6.2 billion, the Finance Ministry said. That was more than the 12.4% slide forecast by economists. Exports fell 3.4% from August to $3.5 billion, while imports increased 5.7% to $2.8 billion. Even with the recent declines, Japan’s global surplus has tripled since April, when higher taxes slowed sales of imports. From a year earlier, the surplus grew 37.1% to $8.8 billion.