Current account surplus amounted to 10.21 billion U.S. dollars in September, up 2.45 billion dollars, or 31.6 percent, from the same month of last year, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
The current account balance, the broadest measure of cross-border trade, stayed in black for five straight months, recording the biggest surplus in two years since September 2018.
Trade surplus for goods reached 12.02 billion dollars in September, up 3.32 billion dollars from a year earlier.
Export and import amounted to 49.85 billion dollars and 37.83 billion dollars respectively, marking the first rebound in seven months since February.
Services account balance, which measures the flow of travel, transport costs and royalties, recorded a deficit of 2.04 billion dollars in September, but it was down 0.22 billion dollars from a year earlier.
Travel account deficit declined to 430 million dollars in September from 800 million dollars tallied a year ago.
People avoided going on an overseas trip amid the growing worry about the COVID-19 resurgence in Europe and the United States.
Primary income account, which includes monthly salary and investment income, registered a surplus of 610 million dollars in September, down from a surplus of 1.54 billion dollars a year earlier.
Financial account, which gauges cross-border capital flow without transactions in goods and services, posted a net outflow of 8.91 billion dollars in the month.
Overseas direct investment by local residents expanded 4.26 billion dollars, while foreign direct investment in South Korea grew 1.25 billion dollars.
For the portfolio investment, which includes stock and bond transactions, overseas investment by domestic residents increased 3.02 billon dollars. Foreign investment in local stocks and bonds gained 1.54 billion dollars.
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