S Korea's current account surplus expected to sharply decline in Aug

SEOUL, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's current account surplus is expected to plunge to around 1.5 billion U.S. dollars in August due to a sharp drop in trade volume, a government report said Monday.

According to an economic assessment by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, August's current account surplus is likely to fall due to a decrease in the trade surplus.

During the cited month, both the country's exports and imports fell at a great pace, 20.6 percent and 32.2 percent, to hit 29.08 billion U.S. dollars and 27.41 billion U.S. dollars, respectively, the report showed.

South Korea marked a 5.4 billion-U.S. dollar current account surplus in June, which dropped to 4.4 billion U.S. dollars in July, according to the report.

The ministry explained that although overall market conditions around the world are picking up, it still needs some time to bring into domestic economic gains.

It added the government will further push for the current expansionary economic stance as downside risks, including potential crude price hikes, are still lingering in the economy.