S.Korea's current account surplus drops in October

SEOUL, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's current account surplus dropped in October owing to jumping import costs, driven by higher energy prices, as well as export fall, central bank data showed Friday.

Current account balance, the broadest measure of cross-border trade, recorded a surplus of 880 million U.S. dollars in October, down from a surplus of 8.01 billion dollars tallied in the same month of last year, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).

Trade balance for goods logged a deficit of 1.48 billion dollars in October, turning red from a surplus of 6.1 billion dollars a year earlier.

Import advanced 8.5 percent from a year earlier to 54.07 billion dollars in October, while export shrank 6.0 percent to 52.59 billion dollars.

Raw materials import expanded 9.9 percent in the cited month on the back of higher energy prices.

Services account balance, which gauges the flow of travel, transport and royalty, registered a surplus of 50 million dollars in October compared to a surplus of 640 million dollars a year earlier.

Surplus for primary income account, which includes monthly salary and investment income, increased to 2.26 billion dollars in October from 1.25 billion dollars a year earlier due to higher dividend income from foreign companies.

Financial account, which measures cross-border capital flow without transactions in goods and services, recorded a net outflow of 2.53 billion dollars in October.

Overseas direct investment by domestic residents rose by 2.75 billion dollars, and foreign direct investment in South Korea gained by 810 million dollars.

For the portfolio investment, which includes stock and bond trading, overseas investment by local residents reduced by 1.56 billion dollars, while foreign investment in domestic stocks and bonds grew by 3.55 billion dollars.