The world’s 11th largest economy posted a current account deficit of US$660 million in April, figures from the Central Bank of Korea showed.

A country’s current account is a broad measure of its trade with the rest of the world, including goods, services and payments made and received.

South Korea’s trade surplus plunged to US$5.67 billion from US$9.62 billion a year earlier with the US and China at loggerheads over commerce.

Beijing is Seoul’s largest trading partner, absorbing a quarter of its exports.

Crucial semiconductor exports fell 12.7% amid sagging global demand for memory chips and intensifying market competition.

At the same time dividend payments overseas leapt to US$6.78 billion, the second highest in the country’s history.

Many South Korean companies pay dividends in April and officials said the current account deficit – the first since April 2012 – was due to seasonal factors.

The data came a day after the Bank of Korea reported the economy shrank 0.4% quarter-on-quarter in the first three months, 0.1% lower than its earlier estimate.

It was the South’s largest contraction since a 3.3% drop in late 2008 at the height of the global financial crisis.

South Korea’s GDP grew 2.7% in 2018, the weakest pace in six years.

The trade spat between Beijing and Washington has hurt global growth prospects, hitting export-reliant Asian countries as China’s economy reels from US tariffs on billions of dollars in Chinese goods.