Japan had a merchandise trade surplus of 614.722 billion yen in March, the Ministry of Finance said, cited by rttnews.

That was shy of forecasts for a surplus of 605.6 billion yen following the upwardly revised 813.5 billion yen surplus in February (originally 813.389 billion yen).

Exports climbed 12.0 percent on year to 7.229 trillion yen, beating forecasts for an increase of 6.2 percent following the 11.3 percent jump in the previous month.

Imports added an annual 15.8 percent to 6.614 trillion yen versus expectations for a gain of 10.2 percent after adding just 1.2 percent a month earlier.