South Korea's current account surplus hit the lowest in three months in July due to slowing exports, central bank data showed Thursday.

The current account surplus reached $8.71 billion in July, compared with $12.06 billion in June, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea.

The July figure also represents a drop from a $9.71 billion surplus from a year earlier. It also marked the lowest in three months. The current account is the biggest measure of cross-border trade.

In July, the size of the surplus in the goods account came to $10.81 billion, down from a $12.71 billion surplus in the previous month, the BOK said.

It said the service balance widened its deficit to $1.53 billion from $1.38 billion from a month earlier.

In the primary income account, the country posted a surplus of $50 million in July, sharply down from $1.26 billion in the previous month.

Exports slipped 10.3 percent on-year in July, while imports plunged 13.6 percent.  (Yonhap)