According to Yonhap News,
(SEOUL=Yonhap News) South Korea's current account surplus decreased slightly in March from a year earlier, but a deficit in the service account narrowed on a turnaround in Chinese visitors, central bank data showed Friday.
The country's current account surplus came to US$5.18 billion in May, down from a surplus of $5.72 billion a year ago, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).
From a month earlier, the March figure gained ground from $3.96 billion.
It marked the 73rd consecutive month of a current account surplus, which started in March 2012.
The services account deficit declined to $2.25 billion from a deficit of $3.11 billion a year earlier as the number of foreign arrivals rose 10.7 percent on-year to 1.37 million in March, posting positive growth for the first time in 13 months. In particular, Chinese visitors increased 11.8 percent thanks to the Beijing government's lifting of a travel ban on South Korea-bound group tours.
The goods account surplus expanded to $9.88 billion in March from $9.36 billion a year earlier on brisk overseas sales of Korean products.
The primary income account, however, saw its deficit widen to $1.58 billion in March from a loss of $520 million a year earlier.
For the first three months of the year, South Korea's current account surplus fell sharply to $11.83 billion from $19.2 billion.
The goods account surplus reached $23.91 billion in the January-March period, down from $27.3 billion, while the service account deficit grew to $9.41 billion on-year from $8.66 billion.
brk@yna.co.kr
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Source: Yonhap News (May. 02, 2018)