Korea’s current account surplus hits record in May
The Bank of
Korea (BoK) announced today that South
Korea recorded a current account surplus of $3.76 billion in May. This amount is the largest monthly figure obtained since $3.87 billion was registered in September 1998.
In the first five months of the year, the current account surplus reached $11.1 billion against a deficit of $700 million recorded in the corresponding period of previous year.
South Korean exports, which are the main factor of the current account surplus, surged by 42% in May from a year earlier and jumped by 57% in the first fifteen days of this month. Shipments to
China, the biggest buyer of Korean exports, soared by 74% in the mentioned period while exports to US and
Japan jumped by 36% and 39% respectively.
BoK stated that the pace of imports slowed down in May due to the weak domestic demand and also the depreciation of South Korean currency against the US Dollar continued to help many exporters to maintain their competitiveness.