SEOUL, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's current account surplus fell in June on surging imports, caused by higher energy prices, central bank data showed Friday.

Current account balance, the broadest measure of cross-border trade, posted a surplus of 5.61 billion U.S. dollars in June, down from a surplus of 8.83 billion dollars tallied a year earlier, according to the Bank of Korea.

The trade surplus for goods declined from 7.55 billion dollars to 3.59 billion dollars in the cited period.

Export increased 9.1 percent from a year earlier to 59.53 billion dollars in June, while import soared 18.9 percent to 55.94 billion dollars.

The country's energy imports jumped 28.9 percent in June from a year earlier, and those for capital goods such as semiconductor equipment advanced 13.7 percent.

Services account balance, which gauges the flow of travel, transport and royalty, registered a deficit of 490 million dollars in June, staying in red for the second consecutive month.

Transport account surplus expanded to 1.65 billion dollars in June from 1.12 billion dollars a year earlier, while travel account deficit gained from 490 million dollars to 690 million dollars in the cited period.

Primary income account, which includes monthly salary and investment income, hit a surplus of 2.77 billion dollars in June, up from a surplus of 2.56 billion dollars a year earlier.

Financial account, which measures cross-border capital flow without transactions in goods and services, recorded a net outflow of 4.06 billion dollars in June.

Overseas direct investment by domestic residents grew by 3.81 billion dollars, while foreign direct investment in South Korea rose by 830 million dollars.

For the portfolio investment, which includes stock and bond trading, overseas investment by local residents climbed by 2.3 billion dollars, but foreign investment in local stocks and bonds reduced by 1.45 billion dollars. Enditem

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