Japan Feb trade surplus 955.7 bln yen

TOKYO, Mar 23 (Reuters) Japan's trade balance returned to a surplus in February due to strong exports, after high oil prices and the effect of Lunar New Year holidays had produced a deficit a month earlier.

The balance rose to a surplus of 955.7 billion yen from a deficit of 351.0 billion yen in January, Ministry of Finance data showed on Thursday. The figure compared with a consensus forecast by analysts of a 1.08 trillion yen surplus.

Exports rose 20.8 percent from a year earlier to 5.8526 trillion yen while imports rose 30.2 percent to 4.8969 yen.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the trade balance was a surplus of 682.65 billion yen, compared with a revised surplus of 591.17 billion yen in January.

Reuters DH VP0627