SEOUL, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's current account surplus posted double-digit growth in 2020 due to a faster fall in import than export, central bank data showed Friday.

File photo: CFP

The current account surplus amounted to 75.28 billion US dollars in 2020, up 26.1 percent, or 15.6 billion dollars, from the previous year, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).

The trade surplus for goods climbed 2.14 billion dollars over the year to 81.94 billion dollars last year.

Export, which takes up about half of the export-driven economy, retreated 7.2 percent to 516.6 billion dollars, while import slumped 8.8 percent to 434.66 billion dollars.

Services account balance, which measures the flow of travel, transport cost and royalties, recorded a deficit of 16.19 billion dollars in 2020, down from a deficit of 26.85 billion dollars in the previous year.

It was attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic that improved the travel and transport accounts.

The primary income account, which includes monthly salary and investment income, registered a surplus of 12.05 billion dollars in 2020, down from a surplus of 12.86 billion dollars tallied a year ago.

In December 2020, the current account surplus reached 11.51 billion dollars, staying in the black for the eighth straight month since May.