According to rttnews, Japan's foreign trade balance turned to a surplus in September from a deficit in the previous year, as imports fell faster than exports, preliminary figures from the Ministry of Finance showed Monday.

The trade balance showed a surplus of JPY 498.3 billion in September versus a shortfall of JPY 121.3 billion in the same month of 2015. That was above the surplus of JPY 366.1 billion expected by economists.

Exports fell 6.9 percent year-over-year in September and imports plunged by 16.3 percent.