Japan posted a customs-cleared trade surplus of 955.7 billion yen for February, swinging back into the black from a 351 billion yen deficit in January, the Finance Ministry said Thursday.

The surplus was down 11.8 percent from the previous year as record-high oil prices inflated the value of imports, the ministry said in a preliminary report. The negative figure for January was the first monthly deficit in five years.

Exports rose 20.8 percent to 5.85 trillion yen, up for the 27th straight month, while imports climbed 30.2 percent to 4.9 trillion yen, up for 24 months in a row, it said.