South Korea's current account surplus reached a record monthly high of US$4.24 billion in November on the back of brisk exports, the central bank said Thursday.
The November figure, up from a $2.05 billion surplus a year earlier, marks the third consecutive month of surplus, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said.
After posting deficits of $390 million in July and $630 million in August, the current account swung to a surplus of $1.4 billion in September and of $1.73 billion in October.
In the first 11 months of the year, the cumulative current account surplus amounted to $5.95 billion, compared with $14.7 billion a year earlier and slightly below the BOK's yearly target of $6 billion, the central bank said.
The current account is the broadest measure of trade, services and investment that flows into and out of the country.
"The largest-ever goods account surplus backed by resilient exports contributed to the surge in the current account surplus last month," it said. The trade balance came to a record surplus of $5.71 billion in November, compared with a $2.66 billion surplus a month ago.
Customs-cleared exports rose 18.7 percent to $30.66 billion, while imports increased 12.2 percent to $26.76 billion.
The services account had a deficit of $1.43 billion in November, larger than the deficit of $1.19 billion in October due to a hike in South Koreans' spending overseas. The capital account, which tracks cross-border investments, recorded a net inflow of $440 million in November, compared with a net outflow of $2.26 billion in October, the central bank said.
Meanwhile, the central bank said the nation's seasonally adjusted current account surplus stood at $2.98 billion in October.
Seoul, Dec. 28 (Yonhap news)
S. Korea's current account surplus hits record US$4.24 bln in November |
