Korea's current account surplus widens in August

South Korea's current account surplus widened last month from a year earlier thanks to brisk semiconductor exports, central bank data showed Friday.

The country's current account surplus reached $6.06 billion in August, compared with a surplus of $5.03 billion a year earlier, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea.

The figure represents a surplus for 66 months in a row. The current account is the biggest measure of cross-border trade.
 

The goods account surplus widened to $9.31 billion in August from $6.94 billion last year on the recovery of global trade and robust memory chip exports, it said.

The BOK said the services balance -- which covers transport, travel, construction and costs for the use of intellectual property -- logged a deficit of $2.33 billion in August, compared with a shortfall of $1.5 billion a year earlier.

The BOK said the decreasing number of Chinese travelers amid the rising number of outbound travelers attributed to the widening trade balance deficit. (Yonhap)