TOKYO, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Japan logged a goods trade surplus in February, the government said in a preliminary report on Monday.

According to the Finance Ministry, the surplus in January stood at 339.0 billion yen (3.03 billion U.S. dollars).

From a year earlier, exports dropped 1.2 percent in the recording period, following an 8.4 percent fall a month earlier.

Shipments to Asia fell 1.2 percent in the recording period, the ministry said.

Those to South Korea dropped 13.2 percent, while those to Singapore fell 18.2 percent, the data showed.

Exports to China were solid, however, rising 5.5 percent in the recording month, the Finance Ministry said.

Imports, meanwhile, declined 6.7 percent marking the biggest drop since November 2016.

Japan returned to a trade surplus for the first time in February since September 2018, the latest Finance Ministry's figures showed.