SEOUL: South Korea’s current account surplus shrank from a month earlier in October as imports grew while the country’s deficit in the service sector widened, preliminary data from the central bank showed Wednesday.
The current account surplus came to US$8.96 billion last month, compared with a revised $10.54 billion surplus in September, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The October figure, however, marked a slight increase from a surplus of $8.74 billion posted in the same month last year.
The on-month drop was partly attributed to a rise in imports, which surged 10.54 percent from the previous month to $36.7 billion, outpacing a 4.86 percent gain in exports. The surplus in the goods account dipped to $10.74 billion in October from a $12.04 billion surplus a month earlier, according to the BOK.
The deficit in the service sector widened to $1.99 billion from a revised $1.73 billion deficit in September. The prime income account surplus came to $590 million in October, compared with a $740 million surplus in the previous month.