Japan's trade surplus rose 24.7 percent in August from a year earlier to 896.7 billion yen, the 17th consecutive monthly increase, the Finance Ministry said in a preliminary report released Monday.

The economic slump has led to a decline in imports while robust economies in the United States and Europe have supported exports. The weaker yen has also helped to push up the surplus, according to the ministry.

The trade surplus will probably continue rising, but the pace of increase should slow as the government's stimulus package begins to take effect, a ministry official said, repeating the same forecast of the past several months.