SEOUL, Dec 30: South Korea's current account surplus rose to a monthly record in November as slumping oil prices slashed the value of imports, state data showed Tuesday.
The preliminary figure of $11.4 billion shattered the previous monthly record of $11.1 billion set in October 2013, according to data from the central Bank of Korea.
The current account -- the broadest measure of foreign trade in goods and services -- has been in the black for two years and nine months -- the longest streak of surplus since 1989.
Exports, which account for more than a half of the Asia's fourth-largest economy, stood at $50.2 billion, down from $52 billion in October.
Imports dropped to $40 billion from $43.5 billion thanks to falling oil prices, logging a surplus of $10.2 billion in the goods account.  The South imports almost all of its energy needs from overseas.