TOKYO — Japan posted its first trade surplus in six years in 2016 thanks to a rebound in exports late in the year and persisting low oil prices, though uncertainties over U.S. policy and global growth are overshadowing the recovery.

The $35.8 billion surplus in 2016 compared with a 2.8 trillion yen deficit in 2015, the government reported Wednesday. Exports fell 7.4 percent from a year earlier to $617 billion while imports dropped 16 percent to $581 billion.

But December’s data showed a strong rebound in exports to China and other Asian countries, suggesting a recent uptick in growth in Asia’s biggest economy is filtering through supply chains across the region.