South Korea logs current account surplus in May

South Korea logged its current account surplus for the 13th consecutive month in May owing to an export recovery and an increased dividend income, central bank data showed Wednesday.

The current account surplus amounted to 10.76 billion U.S. dollars in May, up 8.52 billion dollars from the same month of last year, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).

The current account balance stayed in black for 13 straight months since May last year, surpassing 10 billion dollars in five months.

The trade surplus for goods advanced 3.75 billion dollars over the year to 6.37 billion dollars in May thanks to a recovery in outbound shipment.

Export, which takes up about half of the exportdriven economy, surged 49.0 percent to 50.35 billion dollars in May, and import jumped 41.1 percent to 43.98 billion dollars.

Services account balance, which measures the flow of travel, transport cost and royalties, recorded a deficit of 560 million dollars in May, after logging a deficit of 650 million dollars a year earlier.

It was attributed to the improvement in the transport account, which posted a surplus of 1.19 billion dollars in May. It was up 1.05 billion dollars from a year earlier.

The travel account deficit came to 710 billion dollars in May, up from a deficit of 140 million dollars a year ago.

The primary income account, which includes monthly salary and investment income, registered a surplus of 5.49 billion dollars in May.

It was up 4.94 billion dollars from a year earlier amid an increased dividend income from overseas.

The financial account, which gauges cross-border capital flow without transactions in goods and services, logged a net outflow of 8.38 billion dollars in May.

Overseas direct investment by local residents expanded 3.44 billion dollars, while foreign direct investment in South Korea grew 840 million dollars.

For the portfolio investment, which includes stock and bond transactions, overseas investment by domestic residents increased 4.38 billion dollars. Foreign investment in local stocks and bonds reduced 1.5 billion dollars.