The current account surplus was the smallest in 2014 since comparable data became available in 1985, with the trade deficit swelling thanks to a surge in gas imports and a weaker yen, government data showed on Monday.

The current account surplus, one of the widest gauges of international trade, fell 18.8 percent from a year earlier to ¥2.63 trillion last year, with trade in goods reaching a record deficit of ¥10.37 trillion, the Finance Ministry said in a preliminary report.

The current account surplus shrank for the fourth straight year as demand for natural resources grew from utilities bolstering fossil fuel-based power generation to fill a shortfall from idled nuclear reactors.