Tokyo - Japan's trade surplus shrank 42.1 per cent in the first six months of fiscal 2008 to 3 trillion yen (27.51 billion dollars) from a year earlier, the Finance Ministry said Thursday.

The surplus marked the largest fall since the first half of 2001.

Due to rising oil prices, imports grew faster than exports, the ministry said.

Exports grew 3.9 per cent to 41.93 trillion yen on expansion in automobile shipments to Russia and the Middle East, and imports soared 10.5 per cent to a record 38.97 trillion yen, buoyed by double-digit gains in crude oil, liquefied natural gas and coal imports.

Japan's trade surplus with the United States shrank 17.2 per cent to 3.4 trillion yen.

Exports to the United States shrank 9.2 per cent to 7.55 trillion yen on dips in auto and auto parts shipments, and imports from there fell 1.3 per cent to 4.15 trillion yen with falls in audio and visual electronics.

The trade surplus with the European Union went up 3.6 per cent to a record 2.42 trillion yen. Exports grew 1.5 per cent, and imports were also up 0.2 per cent.

With the rest of Asia, Japan's trade surplus expanded 21.8 per cent to 4.71 trillion yen. Exports went up 6.4 per cent, and imports also rose 2.6 per cent.

Trade deficit with China narrowed 50.5 per cent to 646.1 billion yen, as exports increased 8.7 per cent and imports sank 1.8 per cent.

For June alone, Japan's trade surplus plunged 88.9 per cent from a year earlier to 138.6 billion yen.

Exports fell 1.7 per cent, while imports jumped 16.2 per cent to a record level, the ministry said in a preliminary report. (dpa)