S.Koreas current account surplus posts 5.51 bln dollars in August

South Korea posted current account surplus at 5.51 billion U.S. dollars in August, keeping a surplus trend for 54 straight months, central bank data showed on Tuesday.

The August current account surplus, however, was down from a surplus of 8.67 billion dollars in July, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).

Exports, which account for about half of the economy, reduced 3.0 percent from a year earlier to 41.7 billion dollars in August, while imports inched up 0.6 percent to 34.4 billion dollars.

It marked the first time in 23 months that imports rebounded. Trade surplus for goods stood at 7.3 billion dollars in August, down from 10.78 billion dollars in the previous month.

Oil products export tumbled 26.4 percent on a yearly basis, with those for display panels plunging 20.7 percent. Auto exports declined 14.6 percent last month.

Raw material imports shed 5.2 percent, but imports for capital and consumer goods increased 5.9 percent and 7.8 percent respectively.

Services account balance, which measures the flow of travel, transport costs and royalties, logged a deficit of 1.45 billion dollars in August.

Primary income account, which gauges investment and interest income as well as salary, was a surplus of 610 million dollars in August, up from a surplus of 50 million dollars. Endit