Account surplus widened in Q3 on import drop: central bank

That's less than the median estimate of US$8.54 billion in a Bloomberg survey of five economists.

The broader current-account surplus came after imports fell 37.8 percent in the first nine months of this year, and exports dropped 29.6 percent. The economy shrank 7.54 percent in the second quarter, after contracting a record 10.13 percent in the first three months of the year.

The current account is the broadest gauge of international trade and measures the flow of goods, services and investment income across borders.

The surplus on the income account, which includes dividend payments, widened to $2.37 billion from US$1.7 billion a year earlier due to lower payments from non-residents' equity investment income.

The financial account, which measures investment flows, swung to a surplus of US$6.51 billion from a revised deficit of US$6.38 billion a year earlier, today's report showed.

Direct investment recorded a net outflow of US$1.63 billion compared with a revised net outflow of US$2.17 billion a year earlier.

Portfolio investment had a net outflow of US$10.87 billion, compared with a revised net inflow of US$4.17 billion a year ago.

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