Japan May Trade Balance Misses Forecast as Surplus Narrows

Japan's trade balance for May recorded a surplus of 0.09 trillion yen, falling short of the 0.21 trillion yen forecast and down from the revised 0.20 trillion yen in the previous month. Exports rose 17% year‑on‑year, slightly above the 16.2% expected and up from 14.8% in April. Imports increased 12.5% year‑on‑year, below the 12.8% forecast but higher than April's 9.8%.