S. Korea''s current account surplus Hits 7-Month low in August

South Korea''s current account surplus hit a seven-month low in August as export growth slowed down amid heightened global economic uncertainty, the central bank said Thursday. The current account surplus reached US$401.3 million in August, down from a revised $3.77 billion the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The current account is the broadest measure of cross-border trade. The August reading was the smallest since a $154.7 million surplus tallied in January, but the current account remained in the black for the 18th straight month on exports, which account for about 50% of the South Korean economy, South Korea''s news agency (Yonhap) reported. The cumulative surplus amounted to $12.3 billion in the first eight months of the year and the central bank revised up its 2011 forecast of the surplus to $15.5 billion. The BOK said the surplus of the goods balance narrowed mainly because companies accelerated exports in July ahead of the summer vacation season. The BOK also said that the country is likely to post another current account surplus for September on exports. Yang Jae-ryong, director of the BOK''s monetary and financial statistics division dismissed concerns about the impact of the global economic slowdown, saying that the July-August surplus stood at an average of $2.1 billion, higher than an average $1.4 billion in surplus tallied in the first eight months. "Given that the current account surplus usually picks up in the fourth quarter compared with the third quarter, the country may easily achieve the full-year surplus target," Yang added. Experts said the August surplus gave some solace to the market as a sharp fall in the country''s trade surplus spawned concerns that the current account may slide into the red. BOK Gov. Kim Choong-soo told lawmakers Tuesday that the underlying trend of the current account surplus is likely to continue for September, dismissing speculation that the eurozone debt crisis has begun to hit the Korean economy. South Korea''s goods balance posted a surplus of $480.2 million in August, down from $4.73 billion in July, the BOK said. The August reading was the smallest surplus since a shortfall of $2.44 billion in January 2009. Exports fell 5.69% on-month to $45.8 billion in August while imports grew 3.4% to $45.3 billion.