South Korea again extended its recession-driven current account surplus streak in October as imports dwindled more than exports.
 
The Bank of Korea said Wednesday that the current account surplus was eight-point-96 billion dollars in October.
 
Exports fell 15-point-nine percent on year to 43-point-43 billion dollars in October, but imports declined 16-point-six percent to 36-point-77 billion dollars.
 
Low oil prices led to a decrease in the import costs of crude oil and petroleum-related products as well as a fall in the exports of petrochemical products.
 
The current account surplus narrowed one-point-58 billion dollars from the previous month, but rose 220 million year on year. South Korea has sustained a surplus streak for a record-high 44 consecutive months since March 2012. 
 
But the service account deficit widened by about 260 million dollars from the previous month to one-point-99 billion dollars in October due to a wider deficit in intellectual property rights payments.
 
The travel account incurred a deficit of 850 million dollars, widening by about 140 million dollars from the previous month.