Soaring exports to Asia helped push Japan's trade surplus upwards by 26.6% in April compared with the same month last year, according to new figures from the Finance Ministry.

It was the second straight month the trade surplus has risen.

But the economic picture was clouded by the lowest rise in overall exports for four months, up just 0.3%.

Analysts said the figure suggested that any recovery remains fragile, particularly as the US economy is set to grow at a more moderate pace in the next few months after powering ahead between January and March.

Yen advantage

"If the US recovery is weak, Japan will be pushed in the same direction eventually," said Takahiro Nakayama of Morley Fund Management in Tokyo.

Japan's exports have been helped by the fall in the value of its currency, which traded 6.1% lower on average last month than in April 2002.

However, this advantage has been disappearing in recent weeks, as pessimism about the US economy has led to the dollar weakening against other currencies.

Regional recovery

Japanese exports to the rest of Asia jumped 93.1%, as Chinese shoppers rushed to buy Japanese cars and big manufacturers around the region sucked in industrial raw materials.

"The background for the increase in exports of plastics and other materials is the rebound in Asian economies, led by global manufacturers," a Finance Ministry official said.

"Among the largest contributors were car exports to China, up 97.6% over the previous year," he added.

Japan's trade surplus in April totalled 836.7bn yen ($6.7bn).

Total exports grew 1.6% to 4,400.7bn yen from April last year, the month that marked the start of recessions in Japan and the US.

Imports fell 2.9% to 3,564.1bn yen, the ministry said.

The drop in imports reflected stagnant consumer spending in Japan, analysts said.