South Korea extended its recession-driven current account surplus streak in September as imports dwindled more than exports.
 
The Bank of Korea said Monday that the current account surplus was ten-point-six billion dollars in September.
 
Exports declined ten-point-eight percent on year to 45-point-27 billion dollars last month, but imports plunged 23-point-two percent to 33-point-two billion dollars.
 
Low oil prices led to a sharp decline in the import costs of crude oil and petroleum-related products as well as a fall in exports by the petrochemical industry.
 
The current account surplus increased two-point-21 billion dollars on month and three-point-16 billion dollars on year.
 
As a result, South Korea sustained a surplus streak for a record high 43 consecutive months since March 2012.
 
However, the service account deficit widened by about 400 million dollars from the previous month to one-point-73 billion dollars in September.
 
The travel account incurred a deficit of 710 million dollars as the tourism sector continued to suffer from the outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS).