Japan's merchandise trade surplus in November jumped 54.1 percent to 915.9 billion yen from the same month last year, the Finance Ministry said Thursday, thanks to growing exports led by automobiles, steel and softening crude oil prices.
The expansion came after the surplus in October dropped 25.3 percent to 610.6 billion yen year-on-year due to rising raw materials costs that swelled the import figure.
It came despite growing concerns that economic expansion in the United States, Japan's main export destination, is cooling.