Japan logged a goods trade surplus for the first time in four months in October after a plunge in imports amid falling crude oil and other commodities prices more than offset a drop in exports, government data showed Wednesday.
The country's goods trade surplus stood at ¥17.27 billion ($159 million), marking a turnaround from a revised ¥124.82 billion deficit in September, according to a preliminary report by the Finance Ministry.
In the reporting month, exports dropped 9.2 percent from a year earlier to ¥6.58 trillion, marking the 11th consecutive monthly decline, hit by weakening demand for vehicles and aircraft parts from the United States.