South Korea's current account surplus shrank in April from the previous month mainly due to a drop in exports, the central bank said Wednesday.

The current account surplus reached US$1.78 billion last month, down from $2.97 billion in March, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). 

The figure is larger than the $1.28 billion surplus tallied a year earlier and marks the third month in a row that the current account balance has stayed in positive territory. 

Asia's fourth-largest economy logged a surplus of $1.80 billion in goods trade, down from a $2.93 billion surplus in March and $3.33 billion a year earlier. 

Outbound shipments reached $45.88 billion in April, down from $47.38 billion in March as overseas demand for refined petroleum products and semiconductors fell.

The country's service sector account was in the black by $550 million last month, down from $700 million in March.

The capital and financial account, covering cross-border investments, posted a net inflow of $20 million in April from a net outflow of $1.86 billion in the month before.

For the first four months, the country's current account surplus reached $4.34 billion, larger than $3.89 billion posted in the same period last year, the BOK said. (Yonhap News)