South Korea posted a current account surplus for the 16th straight month in August as exports remained robust and revenue from cargo shipping rose amid the global economic recovery, the central bank said Thursday.

The current account surplus reached $7.51 billion in August, down from $8.21 billion the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The current account is the broadest measure of cross-border trade.

The current account has been in the black since May last year. In April 2020, South Korea suffered a deficit of $3.33 billion on faltering exports caused by the pandemic.

The goods balance logged a surplus of $5.64 billion in August, smaller than a surplus of $5.73 billion the previous month.

Exports, which account for half of the South Korean economy, rose 31.2 percent on-year to $52.2 billion, while imports increased 42.4 percent to $46.6 billion.

The service account, which includes outlays by South Koreans on overseas trips, logged a surplus of $1 billion in August, a turnaround from a deficit of $80 million in July. The August reading marked the second largest-ever surplus.

The primary income account, which tracks wages of foreign workers and dividend payments overseas, logged a surplus of $1.11 billion in the month, smaller than a surplus of $2.8 billion in July.

The capital and financial account, which covers cross-border investments, posted a net inflow of $5.8 billion in August, compared with a net inflow of $6.56 billion the previous month. (Yonhap)