TOKYO (AFP) -- Japan's trade surplus shrank by a bigger than expected 24.8 percent in October from a year earlier on higher raw material costs, the government said on Wednesday.

The surplus declined to 614.70 billion yen (5.21 billion dollars), the first fall for three months, the finance ministry said.

The figure was well below market expectations for a surplus of about 780.6 billion yen, after September's 18-month high of 1.01 trillion yen.

Exports gained 11.6 percent from a year earlier to about 6.59 trillion yen while imports climbed 17.4 percent to around 5.98 trillion yen.

Imports from other Asian nations climbed 20 percent on demand for items such as clothing, semiconductor chips and liquefied natural gas, the ministry said.

The trade deficit with China widened 23.7 percent to 272.3 billion yen, as imports rose 19.5 percent to about 1.26 trillion yen with iron and steel import costs up 92.3 percent, the figures showed.

Exports to the United States climbed 13.5 percent as automobile shipments rose 36.3 percent, while imports gained 21.8 percent.

The deficit with the oil-rich Middle East, which provides much of Japan's energy supplies, swelled by 5.7 percent to 830.80 billion yen.