South Korea's current account swung to a surplus for the first time in three months in September mainly due to brisk exports of cars and other manufactured goods as well as a reduced shortfall in the service account, the nation's central bank said Friday.
The current account surplus reached US$1.37 billion in September, a turnaround from a revised deficit of $638.3 million a month earlier and the biggest surplus in 10 months, according to the Bank of Korea.
The current account is the broadest measure of trade, service and investment flows into and out of the country.
The cumulative current account deficit reached $82.9 million in the first nine months of the year, compared with a surplus of $11.1 billion a year earlier, it said.
"South Korea's brisk exports boosted the nation's trade surplus and the service account deficit narrowed as overseas travels decreased since the summer vacation season ended," the bank said.
The trade balance, which covers the nation's exports and imports, posted a record surplus of $3.24 billion in September, up from $1.44 billion the previous month, it said.
Exports on a customs-cleared basis rose 21.3 percent to $29.7 billion last month from a year earlier, while customs-cleared imports reached $27.9 billion in September, up 22.6 percent from a year ago, it said.
"The trade balance was improved, partly because the country's annual 'Chuseok' autumn harvest holiday fell in early October this year, which meant more working days in September," said Jeong Sam-yong, head of the central bank's balance of payments statistics team.
"In October, the trade surplus will decrease as the fall harvest holiday cut the number of working days, but South Korea's exports are expected to have posted double-digit growth in October from a year ago," he said.
South Korea's current account is forecast to record a surplus of about $4 billion for the full year, boosted by continued brisk exports, the bank said.
The service account, which includes South Korean spending on overseas trips, registered a deficit of $1.66 billion, down from a record $2.1 billion a month earlier, the bank said.
"As the peak summer vacation season came to an end, the service account deficit fell last month," Jeong said.
The income account, which includes South Korea's dividend payments overseas, recorded a surplus of $252 million last month, down from a surplus of $311 million from the previous month, the bank said.
The capital account, which tracks cross-border investments, recorded a net inflow of $1.81 billion, compared with a net inflow of $1.2 billion a month earlier, it said.
Seoul, Oct. 27 (Yonhap News)
S. Korea's current account swings to surplus in September |
