(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Milano, 18 mar - In February, Japan posted a trade surplus of 57.269 billion yen, down from 559.181 billion a year earlier, according to data released by the Ministry of Finance.

Exports rose an annual 4.2% to 9.572 trillion yen, slowing from the 16.8% annual jump seen in January. Exports rose 10.2% to 9.514 trillion yen, after falling 2.4% the earlier year.

The trade surplus with the US shrank 25.6% year on year to 681.831 billion yen, with exports down 8% and imports up 8.4%.

The deficit with Western Europe fell 74.3% to 57.616 billion yen with exports up 17.5% and imports 0.3% higher.

The deficit with Asia fell 71.1% to 255.992 billion yen with a 2.8% rise in exports and a 19.1% jump in imports. The deficit with China soared 414.5% to 967.261 billion yen with.

a 10.9% slump in exports and a 35.4% jump in imports.

(RADIOCOR) 18-03-26 08:07:32 (0091) 5 NNNN