South Korea's current account surplus hit the lowest in four months in August due to slowing exports and increased imports, central bank data showed Tuesday.

The current account surplus reached US$5.51 billion in August, compared with $8.67 billion in July, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).

The August figure represents a drop from an $8.54 billion surplus from a year earlier and also marks the lowest in four months, according to South Korea's (Yonhap) News Agency. The current account is the biggest measure of cross-border trade. In August, the size of the surplus in the goods account came to $7.3 billion, down from a $10.78 billion surplus in the previous month, the BOK said.

It said the service balance narrowed its deficit to $1.45 billion from $1.53 billion from a month earlier. In the primary income account, the country posted a surplus of $610 million in August, sharply up from $500 million in the previous month. Exports increased 2.6% on-year to $40.12 billion in August, while imports gained 0.7% to $35 billion.

Source: QNA