SEOUL, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) -- South Korea logged a current account surplus for the 29th consecutive month due to solid global exports of locally-made semiconductors and ships, central bank data showed Thursday.

The current account balance, the broadest measure of cross-border trade, recorded a surplus of 13.47 billion U.S. dollars in September, staying in black since May 2023, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).

It was higher than a surplus of 9.15 billion dollars in the previous month, marking the second-largest monthly figure.

Trade surplus for goods came to 14.24 billion dollars in September, higher than 9.40 billion dollars in the previous month.

Exports grew 9.6 percent from a year earlier to 67.27 billion dollars in September, thanks to strong demand for chips and ships, while imports gained 4.5 percent to 53.02 billion dollars.

Service account deficit reached 3.32 billion dollars in September, lower than a deficit of 2.12 billion dollars in August.

Primary income account, which includes monthly salary and investment income, registered a surplus of 2.96 billion dollars on solid dividend income from foreign stock investment.

Financial account, which gauges cross-border capital flow without transactions in goods and service, achieved a net outflow of 12.90 billion dollars in the cited month.

Overseas direct investment by domestic residents swelled by 5.66 billion dollars, while foreign direct investment in South Korea climbed by 1.80 billion dollars.

For the portfolio investment, which includes stock and bond trading, overseas investment by residents jumped by 11.19 billion dollars, while foreign investment in local stocks and bonds mounted by 9.08 billion dollars. ■