Market Commentary and Intraday News

South Korea Has $3.09B Current Account Surplus

207 days ago

(RTTNews) - South Korea posted a seasonally adjusted current account surplus of $3.09 billion in September, the Bank of Korea said on Tuesday - down from $4.31 billion in August but remaining in the black for the eighth consecutive month.

On an unadjusted basis, South Korea posted a current account surplus of $6.07 billion after showing a four-month low surplus of $2.36 billion.

The goods account surplus widened to $5.64 billion from $2.51 billion in August, as exports outpaced imports.

The services account shifted to a surplus of $0.32 billion from its $0.26 billion deficit in August, due to improvements in travel and construction services.

The primary income account surplus narrowed from $0.44 billion in the previous month to $0.20 billion, owing mainly to a decrease in dividend earnings and increase in interest payments, the central bank said.

The secondary income account saw a deficit of $0.10 billion, while the financial account had a net outflow of $5.20 billion in September, up from $0.61 billion a month prior.

Direct investment posted a net outflow of $2.38 billion, larger than the $1.61 billion in August due to an increase in outward investment, the bank noted.

Portfolio investment posted a net inflow of $2.67 billion, up from $0.58 billion in the previous month, owing mostly to the shift to a net inflow of foreign investors' debt securities investment. Financial derivatives had a net inflow of $0.36 billion.

Other investment shifted to a net outflow of $4.46 billion from a net inflow of $1.46 billion in August, due to an increase in domestic financial institutions' deposits overseas, the bank said.

Reserve assets increased $1.40 billion, while the capital account recorded a net inflow of $0.03 billion.

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