The country's current account in December reversed a deficit from the month before to finish in the black, but the surplus decreased sharply from a year earlier.

According to tentative data released by the Bank of Korea on Wednesday, the country's current account balance logged a surplus of two-point-68 billion U.S. dollars in December.

The figure marks a turnaround from a shortfall of 220 million dollars a month earlier thanks to an increase in dividend income, but represented a sharp decline from a surplus of six-point-37 billion dollars logged a year earlier.

The balance of goods posted a deficit of 480 million dollars in December, logging a shortfall for the third consecutive month, while the balance of services also marked a shortfall of one-point-39 billion dollars to expand the deficit by 630 million dollars from a year ago.

For the whole of 2022, the current account surplus reached 29-point-83 billion dollars, only about one third of the figure for 2021.