Japan trade gap narrows, but returns to deficit in April

Japan's trade balance reverted to a deficit in April but narrowed sharply from the previous year as the plunge in oil prices cut fuel import costs.

The 53.4 billion yen ($439.6 million) deficit in April for the world's third-biggest economy compared with a 227.4 billion yen surplus in March, the first in several years.

But it was down nearly 94 percent from April 2014, when the deficit was 825.5 billion yen, the Finance Ministry reported on Monday.