SEOUL, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- South Korea posted current account surplus for six straight months to October due mainly to a faster fall in import than export, central bank data showed on Friday.

Current account surplus amounted to 11.66 billion U.S. dollars in October, up 48.9 percent from 7.83 billion dollars tallied a year earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).

It marked the third-highest surplus ever recorded in history. The current account balance, the broadest measure of cross-border trade, stayed in the black for six months since May.

Trade surplus for goods reached 10.15 billion dollars in October, topping 10 billion dollars for two months in a row.

Export for goods shrank 4.3 percent over the year to 46.99 billion dollars in October, while import sank 10.3 percent to 36.84 billion dollars amid cheaper global crude oil.

Services account balance, which measures the flow of travel, transport cost and royalties, recorded a deficit of 660 million dollars in October, down from a deficit of 1.72 billion dollars in the same month of last year.

Travel account deficit declined from 820 million dollars to 470 million dollars in the cited period, while the transport account turned into a surplus of 440 million dollars from a deficit of 40 million dollars.

Primary income account, which includes monthly salary and investment income, registered a surplus of 2.45 billion dollars in October, up from a surplus of 1.83 billion dollars a year earlier thanks to an increased income of dividend and interest.

Financial account, which gauges cross-border capital flow without transactions in goods and services, logged a net outflow of 15.94 billion dollars in October, up from an outflow of 10.24 billion dollars a year ago.

Overseas direct investment by local residents expanded 1.1 billion dollars in October, while foreign direct investment in South Korea grew 950 million dollars.

For the portfolio investment, which includes stock and bond transactions, overseas investment by domestic residents increased 4.18 billion dollars in the month. Foreign investment in local stocks and bonds gained 3.92 billion dollars. Enditem

Related

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)