The nation's surplus in the broadest gauge of trade in goods and services in February declined 8.7 percent from a year earlier to 1.35 trillion yen, marking the third consecutive month of year-on-year decreases, the Finance Ministry said Wednesday in a preliminary report.

Japan's shrinking trade surplus combined with a slowdown in the global economy to play a major part in the decline of the current account surplus, a ministry official said.

February's drop was more moderate than the 59.7 percent plunge in January, but it is difficult to determine a trend, the official said.