South Korea's current account surplus widened from a month earlier in September but mostly because imports dropped at a faster clip than exports, central bank data showed Monday.
  

The current account surplus came to $10.61 billion last month, compared with a revised $8.4 billion surplus in the previous month, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. September marks the 43rd consecutive month of surplus, the longest streak of surplus in the country's history.
  

The September figure also marks a significant gain from a surplus of $7.45 billion in the same month last year.
  

The rise, however, was mostly attributed to a large cut in imports that significantly outpaced a drop in exports.
  

Imports plunged 23.2 percent on-year to $33.21 billion in September, while exports dropped 10.8 percent to $45.27 billion. South Korea's exports have fallen every single month since the start of the year.
  

"Outbound shipments of goods have been on a steady decline this year, and this is largely due to a drop in shipments of petroleum products caused by a cut in global oil prices," said Jeon Seung-cheol, director general of BOK's economic statistics department.
  

The trade ministry earlier said the average price of Dubai crude, which accounts for some 80 percent of the country's overall oil imports, more than halved to $45.80 per barrel in September from $96.60 per barrel the same month last year.
  

In September, the country's exports of petroleum and petrochemical products, which together account for over 20 percent of the country's total exports, plunged 35.3 percent and 25 percent on-year, respectively.
  

The surplus in the goods account was $12.06 billion last month, up from a surplus of $8.89 billion in the previous month and $7.51 billion a year earlier, according to the BOK.
  

The deficit in the service account widened to $1.73 billion last month from a revised $1.34 billion deficit in the previous month.
  

The deficit in the travel account further narrowed to $710 million from a $1.06 billion deficit in the previous month, a clear sign of recovery from the fallout of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome outbreak that has claimed 37 lives since it was first reported here in late May.
  

The growth in the service account deficit was partly attributed to an increase in the use of intellectual property rights, whose account balance came to a deficit of $260 million, marking a reversal from a surplus of $50 million in August.
  

The prime income account surplus came to $790 million last month, down from a surplus of $950 million in August.
  

The on-month drop was attributed to a cut in income from dividends, which was halved to $280 million from a surplus of $560 million over the cited period. (Yonhap)