S Korea posts 4th-largest current account surplus last year

South Korea posted its fourth- largest ever current account surplus in 2010, remaining in the black for the 13th straight year, the central bank said Thursday.

Last year's current account surplus reached 28.21 billion U.S. dollars, down from 32.79 billion dollars the previous year, when it marked the largest ever surplus, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said.


The current account is the broadest measure of international trade, including goods, services and investment income.


South Korea's annual current account has maintained its surplus run since 1998, even though the surplus narrowed to 3.2 billion U.S. dollars in 2008 due to the global financial crisis.


In December alone, South Korea logged a current account surplus of 2.11 billion U.S. dollars, up from 1.93 billion U.S. dollars the previous month, according to the BOK.


The monthly current account extended its surplus run for the 10th straight month in December on robust exports of cars and electronics products.
(Source:http://news.xinhuanet.com)