SEOUL, Jan. 4 (Yonhap) -- South Korea posted a current account surplus for the 57th straight month in November due to increased outbound shipments, central bank data showed Wednesday.
The current account surplus reached US$8.99 billion in November, compared with a $8.72 billion surplus a month earlier, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).
Still, the November figure marks a decline from $9.84 billion a year earlier. The current account is the biggest measure of cross-border trade.
Meanwhile, the BOK said the service balance deficit widened to $1.74 billion in November from $1.22 billion a year earlier.
In the primary income account, the country posted a surplus of $440 million in November, down from the surplus of $610 million a year earlier.
Exports increased 7.7 percent on-year to $46.46 billion in November, and imports also rose 10.6 percent to $35.94 billion.
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