TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese exports rose 5.4% year-on-year in June, up for a seventh straight month, data from the Ministry of Finance showed on Thursday.
The rise in shipments was smaller than a 6.4% increase expected by economists in a Reuters poll.
Imports grew 3.2% in June from a year earlier, versus a 9.3% increase expected by economists, swinging the trade balance into a surplus of 224 billion yen ($1.44 billion). Estimates were for a deficit of 240.0 billion yen.
($1 = 155.5700 yen)
(Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto and Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim)
