TRADE

Japan’s Trade Surplus Falls in July: The trade surplus fell nearly 38% to $4.66 billion in July compared with the year-ago period--the smallest July surplus in 14 years, the Finance Ministry said. But the politically sensitive surplus with the U.S. showed only a small decline, as Japanese car exports shifted into higher gear. Overall, imports were up a substantial 36%, as the Japanese, in a fundamental economic shift, continued to buy more foreign products. It was the 20th consecutive month of year-on-year decline in the overall surplus and the 17th consecutive month of decline in the surplus with the U.S. Economists said the rise in exports heralded moderate export growth for the rest of the year.