South Korea's current account surplus sharply widened in May as exports maintained strong growth and companies received dividends from overseas affiliates, central bank data showed Wednesday.

The current account surplus reached $10.97 billion in May, widening from a surplus of $1.91 billion the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The current account is the broadest measure of cross-border trade.

Since the country logged a deficit of $3.33 billion in April last year, the largest in almost a decade, on faltering exports amid the pandemic, the current account has stayed in the black.

The goods balance logged a surplus of $6.37 billion in May, bigger than the surplus of $4.56 billion the previous month.

Exports, which account for half of the South Korean economy, jumped 45.6 percent on-year in May on the back of brisk demand for chips and cars.

Outbound shipments came to $50.7 billion in May, compared with $34.8 billion a year earlier.

Imports gained 37.9 percent to $47.8 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $2.93 billion. It marked the 13th consecutive month for the country to post a trade surplus.

The country's overseas shipments have been battered by the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. But the pace of the slump has eased since June last year as major economies slowly began resuming business activities and easing border lockdowns. (Yonhap)