March Current Account Surplus of $6.73 Billion... $770 Million Decrease from a Year Ago

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jung] According to the preliminary balance of payments statistics announced by the Bank of Korea on the 10th, the current account surplus for March was recorded at 6.73 billion dollars. This marks a surplus for 23 consecutive months since May 2020, but the surplus amount decreased by 770 million dollars compared to the same month last year (7.5 billion dollars).

This is because, although exports showed strong performance, the increase in imports, mainly raw materials, was larger. The goods balance surplus was 5.31 billion dollars, which is 2.54 billion dollars less than the same month last year. Exports recorded 64.51 billion dollars, up 16.9%, driven by strong performance in major items such as petroleum products and semiconductors, while imports increased by 25.1% to 59.2 billion dollars.

In particular, raw material imports based on March customs clearance surged by 52.3% compared to the same month last year. Among raw materials, the import growth rates for gas, coal, crude oil, and petroleum were 163.8%, 106.2%, 83.9%, and 50.6%, respectively.

The services balance turned to a surplus of 360 million dollars from a deficit of 1.15 billion dollars in the same month last year, supported by a favorable transportation balance. The transportation balance surplus expanded by 970 million dollars compared to the same month last year, reaching 1.55 billion dollars. The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI) for March surged 74.5% compared to a year ago, reflecting the high level of export freight rates.

As overseas travel recovered, the travel balance deficit widened to 470 million dollars, larger than the 360 million dollar deficit in March last year.

The primary income balance recorded a surplus of 1.15 billion dollars, but the surplus amount decreased by 140 million dollars year-on-year due to increased dividend payments by foreign-invested corporations.

The financial account net assets (assets minus liabilities) increased by 5.37 billion dollars in March. In direct investment, domestic investors' overseas investment increased by 9.11 billion dollars, and foreign investors' domestic investment also rose by 2.84 billion dollars. In securities investment, domestic investors' overseas investment increased by 6.58 billion dollars, but foreign investors' domestic securities investment decreased by 2.27 billion dollars.

Accordingly, the current account surplus for the first quarter of this year (accumulated from January to March) was 15.06 billion dollars, down 7.27 billion dollars compared to the first quarter of last year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.