South Korea current account surplus expands in September

South Korea's current account surplus expanded in September from the previous month on trade gains and stronger service industry earnings, the central Bank of Korea said Tuesday. The current account, the broadest measure of South Korea's trade with the rest of the world, showed a surplus of 6.57 billion dollars in September, up from a revised $5.68 billion in August. Exports fell 2.7 percent on-year to $46.31 billion but imports declined by a greater margin of 3.5 percent to $40.61 billion, resulting in a $5.7 billion trade surplus in September, up from a revised $5.28 billion surplus a month earlier. The service account, including transport, travel and other services, posted a $872.5 million surplus last month, up from a $100.6 million surplus in August. In October, the central bank said the country's 2013 current account surplus was likely to hit a record high of $63 billion.