S. Korea logs current account surplus for 16th month in Aug.

The current account surplus reached $7.51 billion in August, down from $8.21 billion the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The current account is the broadest measure of cross-border trade.

The current account has been in the black since May last year. In April 2020, South Korea suffered a deficit of $3.33 billion on faltering exports caused by the pandemic.

The goods balance logged a surplus of $5.64 billion in August, smaller than a surplus of $5.73 billion the previous month.

Exports, which account for half of the South Korean economy, rose 31.2 percent on-year to $52.2 billion, while imports increased 42.4 percent to $46.6 billion.

The service account, which includes outlays by South Koreans on overseas trips, logged a surplus of $1 billion in August, a turnaround from a deficit of $80 million in July. The August reading marked the second largest-ever surplus.

The primary income account, which tracks wages of foreign workers and dividend payments overseas, logged a surplus of $1.11 billion in the month, smaller than a surplus of $2.8 billion in July.

The capital and financial account, which covers cross-border investments, posted a net inflow of $5.8 billion in August, compared with a net inflow of $6.56 billion the previous month. (Yonhap)