South Korea's current-account surplus rose to a four-month high last month on brisk exports and reduced overseas travel spending, the central bank said Friday.
The surplus was 4.94 billion dollars in October, up from a revised 4.03 billion dollars in September.
October was the ninth consecutive month that the current account balance, the broadest measure of trade in goods and services, was in the black as sluggish domestic demand undercut imports.
For the 10 months to October, the accumulated surplus now stood at 37 billion dollars, the Bank of Korea said.
Senior bank official Lee Young-Bog said the surplus was expected to fall in November owing to an ongoing railway strike, but the full-year figure would still exceed 40 billion dollars.
Exports in October fell 5.5 percent year-on-year to 35.89 billion dollars, declining for the 10th consecutive month, but imports contracted by a larger 14.7 percent to 30.17 billion dollars.
The deficit in the service account, including Koreans' spending on overseas trips, was 1.13 billion dollars, down from a shortfall of 1.63 billion dollars a month earlier.
The capital account, tracking cross-border investments, posted a net inflow of 1.54 billion dollars in October, sharply down from 7.2 billion dollars the previous month.
The reduction came as foreign buying of local stocks declined and banks' loans denominated in foreign currencies increased.
Source: AFP Asian Edition
