The current account surplus grew 72.3 percent from a year earlier in October, the 16th consecutive month of surplus, boosted by plunging oil imports and an increase in the travel surplus, the government said Tuesday.

The surplus in the current account balance — one of the widest gauges of a country's international trade — stood at ¥1.46 trillion and was also lifted by a goods trade surplus of ¥200.2 billion, the Finance Ministry said.

The goods trade logged the surplus against a deficit of ¥764.9 billion a year earlier, with exports falling 3.7 percent to ¥6.33 trillion, while imports declined 16.4 percent to ¥6.13 trillion, the ministry said in a preliminary report.