S. Korea logs current account surplus for 3rd month in July

South Korea racked up a current account surplus for the third consecutive month in July, driven by robust exports, central bank data showed Friday. The country's current account surplus reached US$9.13 billion in July, marking a surplus for the third consecutive month, according to data compiled by the Bank of Korea. The July surplus was smaller than the previous month's $12.56 billion, the largest since September 2017. The country's goods account racked up an $8.49 billion surplus in July following a $11.74 billion surplus the previous month. The nation's outbound shipments rose 16.7 percent on-year in July to $58.64 billion, while imports increased 9.4 percent over the cited period to $50.14 billion, according to the central bank's data. The primary income account, which tracks the wages of foreign workers, dividend payments from overseas and interest income, reported a $3.15 billion surplus in July, following a $2.71 billion surplus the previous month, the data showed. The services account deficit w idened to $2.38 billion in July from a deficit of $1.6 billion the previous month, they showed. Source: Yonhap News Agency