SEOUL, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's current account surplus reduced in August on an export fall that offset the improved services account balance, caused by a decline in travel to Japan, central bank data showed Tuesday.
Current account surplus declined to 5.27 billion U.S. dollars in August from 8.55 billion dollars tallied a year earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
Export, which accounts for about half of the export-driven economy, tumbled 15.6 percent over the year to 45.15 billion dollars in August on lower prices for oil products and semiconductors.
Import shrank 5.1 percent to 40.39 billion dollars, sending the trade surplus to 4.76 billion dollars. The surplus was the lowest in over five and half years since January 2014.
Services account balance posted a deficit of 1.8 billion dollars in August, down from a deficit of 2.04 billion dollars a year earlier.
It was attributed to a reduction in the number of South Koreans traveling to Japan amid the ongoing campaign to boycott Japanese products and tours to the neighboring country.
Travel account balance logged a deficit of 1.07 billion dollars in August, down from a deficit of 1.55 billion dollars a year ago.
The number of South Koreans going on a tour to Japan was 309,000 in August, down 48.0 percent from a year ago. The number of Japanese travelers to South Korea grew 4.6 percent in the same period.
