S. Korea’s current account hits US$8.44 bln in Aug.

SEOUL, Oct. 11 (Yonhap) — South Korea’s current account surplus continued to remain firmly in the black in August on brisk overseas sales, central bank data showed Thursday.

The country’s current account surplus came to US$8.44 billion in August, up from $6.03 billion in the black a year ago, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). From a month earlier, the August figure declined from a yearly high of $8.76 billion.

Asia’s fourth-largest economy has maintained a current account surplus for 78 straight months since March 2012.

The goods account surplus rose to $11.24 billion in August from $9.18 billion a year earlier on the back of rising global demand for Korea-made semiconductors amid an upturn in the world economy.

The service account remained in the red, logging $2.11 billion in deficit for the month, narrowing slightly from $2.33 billion a year ago.

In particular, the deficit in the travel account expanded on-year to $1.54 billion in August from $1.41 billion as larger number of South Korean tourists headed overseas during the summer vacation period.

Some 2.5 million South Koreans went abroad in August alone, marking the second-biggest monthly figure, while 1.39 million foreigners, including 478,000 Chinese tourists, came to the country during the same period.

The primary income account surplus improved to $500 million in August from $200 million the previous month.