SEOUL, May 7 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's current account balance stayed in the black for 11 months in a row due to strong export, central bank data showed Friday.

Current account surplus amounted to 7.82 billion U.S. dollars in March, remaining in the black since May last year, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). It was up 1.88 billion dollars from a year earlier.

Trade surplus for goods advanced 0.96 billion dollars over the year to 7.92 billion dollars in March.

Export gained 18.5 percent to 54.38 billion dollars, and import advanced 19.3 percent to 46.46 billion dollars.

Services account balance, which measures the flow of travel, transport cost and royalties, recorded a deficit of 900 million dollars in March, up it was down from a deficit of 1.65 billion dollars a year ago.

The transport account posted a surplus of 690 million dollars, turning around from a deficit of 90 million dollars a year earlier. The travel account deficit was almost unchanged at 360 million dollars.

Primary income account, which includes monthly salary and investment income, registered a surplus of 1.28 billion dollars in March on an increased dividend income.

Financial account, which gauges cross-border capital flow without transactions in goods and services, logged a net outflow of 10.01 billion dollars in March.

Overseas direct investment by local residents expanded 4.22 billion dollars, while foreign direct investment in South Korea grew 1.97 billion dollars in the month.

For the portfolio investment, which includes stock and bond transactions, overseas investment by domestic residents increased 6.43 billion dollars. Foreign investment in local stocks and bonds climbed 7.27 billion dollars. Enditem

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