The nation's current account surplus doubled in fiscal 2015 from the previous year to ¥17.98 trillion, buoyed by lower crude oil prices and a surge in travel surplus on the back of a growing number of foreign tourists, the government said Thursday.

Cheap crude oil helped reduce goods imports despite slower exports, helping to turn around the trade balance to a surplus of ¥629.9 billion in fiscal 2015, a reversal from a deficit of ¥6.59 trillion in fiscal 2014.

The current account surplus, one of the widest gauges of international trade, hit the highest in five years, as imports plunged 11.8 percent to ¥72.51 trillion, while exports dropped 3.3 percent to ¥73.14 trillion, the Finance Ministry said in a preliminary report.