South Korea posted a current account surplus for the 19th consecutive month in November although the surplus narrowed due to a sharp rise in imports. 

According to tentative data from the Bank of Korea(BOK) on Tuesday, the country's current account surplus came to seven-point-16 billion U.S. dollars in November. 

It’s the 19th straight month a surplus has been logged since May 2020 but the amount decreased by over two billion dollars from a year ago. 

Exports rose by 27-point-one percent on-year to 59-point-six billion dollars, while imports jumped 45-point-three percent to 53-point-seven billion dollars due to the rising prices of crude oil and raw materials.  

The service sector logged a deficit of 140 million dollars in November, but it narrowed from 980 million dollars a year ago. Despite the deficit, the transport account surplus soared to one-point-71 billion dollars in November, a sharp increase from 450 million dollars a year earlier.