South Korea logged a current account deficit for the second consecutive month in February due to export fall and travel account deficit, central bank data showed Friday.
Current account balance, the broadest measure of cross-border trade, posted a deficit of 520 million U.S. dollars in February, after registering a record deficit of 4.21 billion dollars in the prior month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
It marked the first time in 11 years since 2012 that the country recorded the current account deficit for the second consecutive month.
Trade deficit for goods came to 1.3 billion dollars in February, staying in red for the fifth straight month.
Export declined 6.3 percent from a year earlier to 50.52 billion dollars in February, while import gained 4.6 percent to 51.82 billion dollars.
Services account deficit amounted to 2.03 billion dollars in February, turning downward from a surplus of 90 million dollars in the same month of last year.
Travel account deficit more than doubled to 1.01 billion dollars in February from a year earlier as local demand rose for overseas trip on the back of the moderated measures against the COVID-19 pandemic.
Surplus for primary income account, which includes monthly salary and investment income, expanded to 3.12 billion dollars in February from 1.56 billion dollars a year earlier due to higher dividend income from foreign companies.
Financial account, which measures cross-border capital flow without transactions in goods and services, recorded a net inflow of 1.19 billion dollars in February, after posting a net outflow of 620 million dollars in the previous month.
Overseas direct investment by domestic residents rose by 3.66 billion dollars, and foreign direct investment in South Korea gained by 360 million dollars.
For the portfolio investment, which includes stock and bond trading, overseas investment by local residents climbed by 2.48 billion dollars, while foreign investment in domestic stocks and bonds grew by 1.45 billion dollars.
Source: Xinhua Finance Agency