The nation's current-account surplus in January plunged 22.8 percent from a year earlier to 610.9 billion yen with the expansion of imports outpacing that of exports, the Finance Ministry said Friday in a preliminary report.

It was the 12th consecutive month of year-on-year decline in the surplus. The trend is likely to continue for the time being, considering the surging volume of imports and high oil prices, a ministry official said.

The surplus in merchandise trade -- exports minus imports -- fell 27.9 percent to 662.6 billion yen, making it the biggest component of the current-account balance, the broadest gauge of the country's international economic standing. Exports edged up 0.9 percent while imports rose 11.9 percent.

The current-account balance is the difference between a country's income from foreign sources and foreign obligations payable, excluding net capital investment.

Crude oil prices on a yen basis rose 105.8 percent from a year earlier, helping boost the import values.

The yen averaged 105.16 to the dollar in the month, stronger than the 113.18 recorded a year earlier. A stronger yen usually helps make Japanese exports more expensive and imports to Japan cheaper.

The service deficit shrank to 421.7 billion yen, down 85.2 billion yen, mainly because of a decrease in the deficit on miscellaneous trade-related services.

As a result, the surplus in goods and services trade amounted to 240.9 billion yen, down 41.5 percent.

The income account, which covers income from Japanese investment in foreign securities and payments by foreign employers to workers in Japan, left a surplus of 449.8 billion yen, down 12 billion yen from January 1999.