A surge in crude oil prices caused the value of imports in November to jump to a record 4.55 trillion yen, up 28 percent year on year, the Finance Ministry said Wednesday.

Exports rose 13.4 percent to 5.16 trillion yen, on healthy sales of cars and steel.

But the sharp rise in imports meant the trade surplus, calculated by subtracting imports from exports, shrank 39.2 percent to 602 billion yen. It was the first contraction in the trade surplus in three months.

Crude oil imports in November rose 54.4 percent from a year earlier, a Finance Ministry official said. Imports of naphtha and other petroleum products leaped 70.6 percent from the previous year.

The average price of oil imported by Japan in November was a record $41.90 a barrel, up 42 percent from the previous year. The ministry official said these prices will probably fall in the near future, as crude oil prices begin to drop.

The total value of imports and exports between January and November has already topped the total of imports and exports for the full 2003 calendar year.

Imports from other parts of Asia rose 26.9 percent to a record 2.09 trillion yen, with naphtha imports from Thailand and South Korea as well as winter clothing and cellular phone parts from China leading the way.

Exports to the rest of Asia also rose, gaining 14 percent from the previous year to 2.47 trillion yen. The trade surplus with the rest of Asia dropped 27.2 percent to 374.3 billion yen.

Tertiary industry dips

The tertiary industry activity index inched down 0.1 percent in October from the previous month for the first decline in three months, the government said Wednesday.

The index stood at a seasonally adjusted 104.2 against the base of 100 for 2000.