Spain's current account surplus almost tripled in August from a year earlier, the Bank of Spain said on Thursday, reaching its second highest level in 15 years on the back of surging exports and sliding imports. The Spanish economy returned to growth in the third quarter after nine quarters of contraction, though weak domestic demand continues to weigh on hopes for a robust recovery. The current account surplus was 2.53 billion euros ($3.48 billion) in August, almost three times more than the 850 million euros registered in the same month in 2012, the Bank of Spain said. Spain's trade deficit plummeted to 1.23 billion euros compared to 2.69 billion euros a year earlier as imports fell 3.6 percent while exports rose 4.3 percent, it said. The smaller trade deficit in the month of August meant that the large services surplus, including a 4.7 billion euro surplus in tourism, had a bigger positive impact on the overall current account balance than in the previous year. Spain's current account suffered a record deficit of 12 billion euros in January 2008, one of the world's largest shortfalls in relative terms. But in July 2012 this turned to surplus for the first time since 1998. Direct Foreign Investment The Bank of Spain figures also showed foreign investment in Spain almost doubled to 18.76 billion euros in the eight months to August from a year earlier after non-resident investors were lured by bargains after a five-year economic downturn. The inflow of fresh foreign cash will facilitate a sustainable recovery in the Spanish economy, where domestic companies struggle with relatively higher borrowing costs and public investment has been slashed. "The more international companies buy into Spain, the more Spain will become immune to the supply side constraints on lending... They will not be influenced by the Spanish situation, so it is very important we see a continuation of these flows," said Gilles Moec, an economist at Deutsche Bank. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates recently bought a 6 percent stake in Spanish builder FCC, Colombian and U.S. investors bought new shares in Spanish lender Banco Sabadell and sources say a Canadian paper group is interested in Spain's Indas. (Reuters)