South Korea's current account surplus surpassed 88 billion dollars last year, but failed to meet the central bank's forecast.

According to tentative data released by the Bank of Korea on Thursday, the country's current surplus came to 88-point-three billion U.S. dollars in 2021, up 16-point-three percent on-year.

The surplus in the balance of imports and exports, a key factor for the current account, came to 76-point-two billion dollars, down four-point-four billion dollars from a year earlier.

While exports rose by 25-point-five percent on-year last year, imports jumped 31-point-two percent due to the rising prices of raw materials and a recovery in domestic consumption.

The service sector logged a deficit of three-point-one billion dollars last year, but the deficit narrowed by more than eleven-point-five billion dollars from a year earlier.

In December, the nation posted a surplus for the 20th consecutive month since May 2020 but the amount decreased by six billion dollars from a year ago.