S. Korea logs current account surplus on faster import fall

SEOUL, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- South Korea logged current account surplus for the second straight month on faster fall in import than export, central bank data showed Tuesday.

Current account balance, the broadest measure of cross-border trade, recorded a surplus of 5.87 billion U.S. dollars in June after posting a surplus of 1.93 billion dollars in the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).

Trade surplus for goods came to 3.98 billion dollars in June, up from a surplus of 1.82 billion dollars in May.

Export declined 9.3 percent from a year earlier to 54.14 billion dollars in June, while import dwindled 10.2 percent to 50.15 billion dollars.

Services account deficit increased to 2.61 billion dollars in June from 910 million dollars in the previous month due to a growing number of local residents going on overseas trip.

Primary income account, which includes monthly salary and investment income, registered a surplus of 4.85 billion dollars in June on higher overseas dividend income.

Financial account, which measures cross-border capital flow without transactions in goods and services, recorded a net outflow of 4.77 billion dollars in the cited month.

Overseas direct investment by domestic residents fell by 1.72 billion dollars, but foreign direct investment in South Korea gained by 2.56 billion dollars.

For the portfolio investment, which includes stock and bond trading, overseas investment by local residents jumped by 6.12 billion dollars, while foreign investment in local stocks and bonds climbed by 3.65 billion dollars.