Car sales drive Japanese exports

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Strong steel and car exports helped Japan's trade surplus with the rest of the world rise for the first time in three months, official data has shown.

The surplus hit 200.5bn yen ($1.7bn; £900m) in August.

Buoyant car and steel sales saw Japan's exports to China and the US grow by about 20% on the same period last year.

Analysts had expected the surplus to be higher, but Japan's imports rose more strongly than anticipated, mainly because of high oil prices.

"The surplus was mainly due to robust shipments of automobiles mainly to the United States, which eased the impact of high oil prices," said Junichi Makino, a senior analyst with the Daiwa Institute of Research.

Japan's strong export industry means it usually runs a large trade surplus with the rest of the world, but apart from May, the surplus has been falling this year. The Ministry of Finance even reported a trade deficit in January.

Japan is reliant on imports for most of its energy needs, but the recent fall in crude oil prices means that its trade surplus in September could show a major increase.