SEOUL, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- South Korea logged current account surplus for the fifth consecutive month in September due to strong demand for locally-made semiconductors and automobiles, central bank data showed Thursday.
Current account balance, the broadest measure of cross-border trade, recorded a surplus of 11.12 billion U.S. dollars in September, staying in black since May, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
For the first nine months of this year, current account surplus amounted to 64.64 billion dollars, sharply up from a surplus of 16.75 billion dollars tallied in the same period of last year.
Trade surplus for goods stood at 10.67 billion dollars in September, remaining in black for the 18th straight month since April last year.
Export grew 9.9 percent from a year earlier to 61.67 billion dollars in September, while import expanded 4.9 percent to 51 billion dollars.
Outbound shipment kept an upward trend for the 12th successive month since October last year owing to solid demand for locally-made semiconductors, automobiles and mobile devices.
Service deficit came to 2.24 billion dollars in September, up from 1.23 billion dollars in August.
Primary income account, which includes monthly salary and investment income, registered a surplus of 3.09 billion dollars on overseas dividend income.
Financial account, which gauges cross-border capital flow without transactions in goods and service, logged a net outflow of 12.68 billion dollars in the cited month.
Overseas direct investment by domestic residents climbed 2.47 billion dollars, while foreign direct investment in South Korea gained 1.44 billion dollars.
For the portfolio investment, which includes stock and bond trading, overseas investment by local residents jumped 7.5 billion dollars, but foreign investment in local stocks and bonds reduced 1.3 billion dollars. ■
