Seoul, March 28 (IANS): South Korea kept the current account surplus trend for 13 straight months due to faster reduction in imports than exports, central bank data showed Thursday.
Current account surplus was $2.71 billion in February after posting a $2.33 billion surplus in the prior month, according to the Bank of Korea. The reading stayed in the black for 13 months in a row, reported Xinhua.
Exports fell 7.9 percent from a year earlier to $42.22 billion in February after jumping 14 percent in the previous month. The Lunar New Year's holiday moved to February this year from January last year, decreasing business days and consequently a reduction in exports.
Imports declined at a faster pace of 11 percent than exports, leading the surplus to widen last month.