ANN/THE KOREA HERALD – South Korea recorded a current account surplus for the fourth consecutive month in August, supported by strong export performance, according to data released by the central bank yesterday. The country’s current account surplus stood at USD6.6 billion in August, as per figures from the Bank of Korea, marking the fourth straight month of surplus.
However, this was a decrease from the USD8.97 billion surplus recorded in the previous month. In August, the goods account posted a surplus of USD6.59 billion, down from the USD8.33 billion surplus seen in July.
The nation’s outbound shipments rose 7.1 per cent on-year in August to USD57.45 billion, while imports increased 4.9 per cent over the cited period to USD50.86 billion, according to the central bank’s data.
The primary income account, which tracks the wages of foreign workers, dividend payments from overseas and interest income, reported a USD1.69 billion surplus in August, following a USD3.15 billion surplus the previous month, the data showed.
The services account deficit narrowed to USD1.23 billion in August from a deficit of USD2.38 billion the previous month, it showed.
In the first eight months of the year, the country’s current account surplus reached USD53.6 billion, far higher than the USD10.67 billion during the same period of last year.
The central bank said the surplus will continue throughout this year.
