SEOUL, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's current account surplus dropped last year owing to faster increase in import than export and higher travel account deficit, central bank data showed Wednesday.
Current account balance, the broadest measure of cross-border trade, recorded a surplus of 29.83 billion U.S. dollars in 2022, down from a surplus of 85.23 billion dollars in the previous year, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
It marked the lowest in 11 years since 2011 as energy import costs surged last year on geopolitical risks in Europe.
Export gained 6.3 percent over the year to 690.46 billion dollars in 2022, while import soared 17.7 percent to 675.40 billion dollars.
Trade surplus for goods plunged to 15.06 billion dollars last year from 75.73 billion dollars in the previous year.
Services account deficit expanded to 5.55 billion dollars in 2022 compared to 5.29 billion dollars in 2021.
Local demand mounted for overseas trips on the back of moderated measures against the COVID-19 pandemic.
Travel account deficit stood at 7.93 billion dollars in 2022, up from 7.03 billion dollars in the prior year.
Surplus for primary income account, which includes monthly salary and investment income, hit a new high of 22.88 billion dollars in 2022, up from 19.44 billion dollars in the previous year.
Dividend income surplus jumped from 9.58 billion dollars in 2021 to 14.44 billion dollars in 2022.
Financial account, which measures cross-border capital flow without transactions in goods and services, recorded a net outflow of 38.83 billion dollars in 2022, halving from 78.49 billion dollars in 2021.
Overseas direct investment by domestic residents rose by 66.41 billion dollars last year, and foreign direct investment in South Korea gained by 18 billion dollars.
For the portfolio investment, which includes stock and bond trading, overseas investment by local residents climbed by 45.64 billion dollars, while foreign investment in domestic stocks and bonds grew by 20.25 billion dollars. ■