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S. Korea's travel account deficit hits 7-year high on MERS

South Korea's travel account deficit reached a seven-year high in July on the fallout from the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome outbreak, while its current account surplus narrowed from the previous month, data showed Wednesday.

July's travel account deficit stood at $1.45 billion, the worst reading in seven years and widening from a $1.04 billion shortfall in the previous month, according to the provisional data released by the Bank of Korea.

The MERS outbreak, which claimed 36 lives here, sparked a nationwide health scare, dealing a huge blow to the retail and tourism sectors.

Local consumers refrained from going to stores on fears of contracting the disease, and the largest outbreak outside Saudi Arabia also prompted foreign tourists to cancel their visits to South Korea.

The current account surplus reached $10.11 billion in July, compared with a revised $12.11 billion surplus in June, The current account is the biggest measure of cross-border trade.

The monthly decline was largely attributed to a drop in the balance of goods, which slumped to $10.86 billion from $13.14 billion a month earlier.

Exports and imports both continued to move south in July compared with the previous year, with the on-year decline in exports quickening to 10.4 percent from 2.1 percent. Imports dropped 20.6 percent from a year earlier, also accelerating from a

17.3 percent plunge in June, the central bank data showed.

The service account saw its deficit narrow despite a weakened travel account. The service account deficit reached $1.92 billion, compared with a $2.5 billion shortfall in the previous month.

The surplus in the primary income account slipped to $1.28 billion from $1.68 billion on a dip in dividend income, according to the data.

South Korea's current account surplus in the first seven months of the year totaled $62.43 billion, compared with $47.31 billion in the same period last year. (Yonhap)