Japan Steel Export Increases in May

Japanese export increased to 5.7035 trillion yen by 18.9% in May from a year ago and the import increased to 5.3186 trillion yen by 17.9%, announced Ministry of Finance on Thursday. Trade surplus increased to 384.9 billion yen by 35.2%. The export increased for 30 consecutive months and the import for 27 months. The trade surplus increased for the first time in 17 months. The steel export increased to 2.972 million tonnes by 6.2% in volume and to 267.973 billion yen by 4.9% in value. The steel import decreased to 595,599 tonnes by 22.6% in volume and to 58.25 billion yen by 20.8% in value.