In its 14th-consecutive month of year-on-year decline, the nation's trade surplus plunged 47.2 percent in August to 320.25 billion yen, the Finance Ministry said Thursday in a preliminary report.

Exports decreased 8.8 percent to 3.83 trillion yen, down for the fifth month in a row, and imports fell 2.4 percent to 3.51 trillion yen, the first decrease in 22 months.

The ministry attributed the lower surplus to declines in exports of office equipment, semiconductors and other electronics parts that more than offset falls in imports of the same products, reflecting the global slump in the information technology market.

Exports of semiconductors and other electronics parts fell 31.9 percent, while those of office equipment, including personal computers, decreased 10 percent.

Imports of semiconductors and other electronics components dropped 35.8 percent. Office equipment imports shrank 18.7 percent.

"It's difficult to predict future trends because trade is affected by various factors, such as foreign exchange and crude oil prices," a ministry official said. "But the trade surplus is not on an increasing trend for now."

The yen averaged 123.56 to the dollar in August, down 12 percent from 108.73 a year earlier.

The official said exports have been falling due to a worldwide economic slowdown. He could not say whether the import fall stemmed from the sluggish Japanese economy, but added contractions in the volume of imports have become apparent over the past few months.

The official also said he could not predict how last week's terrorist attacks against the U.S. would affect trade.

The politically sensitive trade surplus with the United States fell 0.02 percent to 543.54 billion yen, down for the eighth straight month, with exports down 5 percent to 1.15 trillion yen for the fifth consecutive month of decline and imports off 9.1 percent to 603.55 billion yen for the third drop in a row.

Exports of semiconductors and other electronics components to the U.S. dropped 51.2 percent, while corresponding imports were down 31.8 percent.

Trade with the U.S. in communications equipment such as cell phones also suffered, with exports down 49.4 percent and imports off 49.9 percent.

The trade data are measured on a customs-cleared basis before adjustment for seasonal factors.

The surplus with the 15-member European Union fell 41 percent to 127.85 billion yen, extending its falling streak to 12 months.

Exports to EU countries dropped 13.6 percent to 562.73 billion yen for the fifth straight monthly fall, while imports rose 0.1 percent to 434.88 billion yen, up for the ninth consecutive month.

The surplus with the rest of Asia fell 71.9 percent to 91.58 billion yen for the ninth consecutive monthly fall. Exports were down 13.8 percent to 1.58 trillion yen for the fifth straight monthly fall and imports lost 1.2 percent to 1.49 trillion yen, down for the first time in 23 months.