[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s current account logged a record-high surplus in June as trade in goods helped offset a widening service account deficit, data showed on Aug. 1.

The current account surplus reached US$12.17 billion in June, compared with an $11.87 billion surplus from a year earlier, according to the provisional data released by the Bank of Korea.

The current account is the biggest measure of cross-border trade.

The June figure is the highest since 1980, when the central bank began to collect data.

In June, the surplus in the products account came to $12.82 billion, up from a $10.74 billion surplus in the previous month, the BOK said.

Exports slipped 7.4 percent on-year, while imports plunged 10.1 percent.

Meanwhile, the service sector narrowed its deficit to $1.38 billion from $2.2 billion during the same period.

In the primary income account, the country posted a surplus of $1.26 billion in June, up from $910 million in May, thanks to an increase in income on equity.

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