Japan's current account surplus for January dropped from a year earlier for the first decline in five months, as the travel surplus continued to plunge amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, government data showed Monday.

The current account balance, one of the widest gauges of international trade, registered a surplus of ¥646.8 billion ($6 billion), down 2.3% from a year ago to mark the 79th straight month of black ink, the Finance Ministry said in a preliminary report.

The services trade balance logged a deficit of ¥480.9 billion, more than tripling from the previous year's deficit of ¥142.2 billion, as the travel surplus continued to see a significant fall due to strict travel restrictions by countries attempting to contain the virus spread.