SEOUL, June 10 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's current account surplus fell in April compared to the previous month due to the negative effect of the U.S. tariffs imposition, central bank data showed Tuesday.
Current account balance, the broadest measure of cross-border trade, recorded a surplus of 5.70 billion U.S. dollars in April, down from 9.14 billion dollars tallied in March, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
The current account balance stayed in the black for the 24th consecutive month since May 2023, but the surplus amount reduced on the back of the U.S. protectionist moves.
Trade surplus for goods amounted to 8.99 billion dollars in April.
Exports added 1.9 percent in April from a year earlier after expanding 2.2 percent in the previous month, but imports tumbled 5.1 percent in the cited month.
For the first four months of this year, the outbound shipment declined 0.4 percent compared with the same period of last year.
Service account deficit came to 2.83 billion dollars in April, higher than a deficit of 2.21 billion dollars in March.
The primary income account, which includes monthly salary and investment income, registered a deficit of 190 million dollars on dividend payments to foreign investors.
Financial account, which gauges cross-border capital flow without transactions in goods and services, posted a net outflow of 4.51 billion dollars in the cited month.
Overseas direct investment by domestic residents climbed by 3.00 billion dollars, while foreign direct investment in South Korea shrank by 320 million dollars.
For the portfolio investment, which includes stock and bond trading, overseas investment by local residents jumped by 12.33 billion dollars, while foreign investment in local stocks and bonds dipped by 2.18 billion dollars. ■
