S. Korea's current account surplus rises to US$4 bln in April

SEOUL, June 5 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's current account surplus rose slightly in April from a year earlier on an increased surplus in the goods account, central bank data showed Monday.

The country's current account surplus reached US$4 billion in April, compared with a surplus of $3.76 billion tallied a year ago, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).

The figure represents a surplus for 62 months in a row. The current account is the biggest measure of cross-border trade.

The BOK said the goods account surplus widened to $11.93 billion, up from $9.85 billion a year earlier on the back of the country's brisk overseas sales.

Asia's fourth-largest economy saw its outbound shipments soar 24.1 percent in April on recovering global trade, with its imports growing 17.3 percent on-year.

Meanwhile, the services account deficit widened to $2.38 billion in April from a deficit of $1.53 billion a year earlier due to a rise in overseas trips.

The primary income account surplus also expanded to $5.03 billion in April from a surplus of $4.06 billion the previous year.

brk@yna.co.kr
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