South Korea's current account surplus grew from a month earlier in November as the deficit in the service sector narrowed, nearly offsetting a drop in the goods account, preliminary data from the central bank showed Tuesday.

The current account surplus came to US$9.4 billion in November, compared with a revised $9.12 billion surplus in the previous month, according to the data from the Bank of Korea.

The November tally, however, marks a significant drop from the

$10.76 billion surplus in November 2014. November marked the 45th consecutive month of surplus.

The on-month increase was partly attributed to a cut in the deficit from the service sector that helped offset a drop in the surplus from the goods account.

The surplus in the goods account narrowed to $9.98 billion in November from $10.61 billion in October.

Exports plunged 11.8 percent on-year to $43.43 billion in November, quickening from a 7.3 percent on-year drop in the previous month.

Imports too continued to drop, plunging 15.6 percent on-year to $33.45 billion in November, compared with a 14.8 percent on-year fall in the previous month.

The deficit in the service sector, on the other hand, narrowed to $1.28 billion in November from $1.7 billion the previous month.

The deficit in the intellectual property account narrowed to $10 million from $680 million over the cited period, while the deficit in the travel account also shrank to $720 million from $850 million.

The primary income account surplus widened from $590 million in October to $890 million in November, owing to an increase in income on equity, the BOK said.

In the first 11 months of 2015, the country's current account surplus came to $97.99 billion, compared with a $77.42 billion surplus posted in the same period of 2014. (Yonhap)