Japan's trade surplus expanded in June for the first time in 20 months from year-earlier levels as the pace of decline in exports to almost all regions was the slowest this year, said the Japanese Finance Ministry.

The surplus of 508.01 billion yen (roughly 5.4 billion USD), which is nearly four fold larger than a year ago, is the largest since March 2008.

This is due to a continued fall in import prices of crude oil, coal and nonferrous metals, Kyodo News said, citing the ministry's preliminary report.

Exports fell 35.7 percent from a year earlier to around 4.6 trillion yen, compared with a 40.9 percent drop in May. Imports shrank 41.9 percent to nearly 4.1 trillion yen.

Japan’s exports to the US fell 37.6 percent to 766 billion yen, after dropping 45.4 percent in May, while imports from the world’s largest economy contracted 37.9 percent to over 448 billion yen.

Japan’s trade surplus with the European Union shriveled 71.6 percent to 90.48 billion yen. Exports dived 41.4 percent to 560.37 billion yen, against a 45.4 percent drop in May, and imports decreased 26.2 percent to nearly 470 billion yen.

The latest figures represented some signs that Japan’s exports to the US and Europe have begun to pick up, although gradually, in addition to Asia-bound shipments, according to Kyodo News./.