Japan Trade Surplus Shrinks: Japan’s trade surplus...

Japan Trade Surplus Shrinks: Japan’s trade surplus shrank for the fifth straight month in September, but economists said the trend could stall if a stronger dollar accelerated growth in Japanese exports. Japan’s September customs-cleared trade surplus fell 6.7% to $7.24 billion from $7.76 billion a year earlier, the Finance Ministry announced. Industrial machinery and office equipment exports were particularly strong. The drop in the trade surplus was smaller than many analysts predicted because exports rose a surprisingly strong 4.8% from a year earlier to $24.29 billion.