Japan posted a better-than-expected trade surplus in June, as imports fell nearly 19%, outpacing a more modest decline in exports, AP reported. The customs data released Monday showed a 692.8 billion yen ($6.5 billion) surplus, compared with a 60.9 billion yen deficit in June 2015. Economists had forecasted larger declines for both imports and exports for the world’s third-largest economy. Despite the recent strengthening of the Japanese yen against the US dollar, export prices have fallen 14% from a year earlier, according to separate data from the Bank of Japan. That trend is hurting corporate revenues and profits, Marcel Thieliant of Capital Economics said in a commentary.
