Current Account Surplus for 7 Consecutive Months... Continued Export Growth in Semiconductors and More (Update)

As exports of IT items such as semiconductors and information communication devices continue to perform well, the current account balance has maintained a surplus for seven consecutive months.

Export containers are being loaded onto a ship at Busan North Port. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

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According to the "November Balance of Payments (provisional)" announced by the Bank of Korea on the 8th, South Korea's current account recorded a surplus of $9.3 billion in November last year. The current account posted a deficit for the first time in a year in April due to an increase in foreign dividends, but has maintained a surplus for seven consecutive months since May.

The cumulative current account surplus from January to November was $83.54 billion. This is an increase of $55.47 billion compared to the same period last year ($28.07 billion).

The current account surplus continued as exports expanded and imports decreased, centered on IT items such as semiconductors. The goods balance in November last year was $9.75 billion, expanding the surplus compared to the previous month ($8.12 billion). Exports were $57.1 billion, up 1.2% year-on-year, while imports were $47.35 billion, down 4.4%. Based on customs clearance in November, semiconductor exports increased by 29.8%, information communication devices by 8.5%, and steel products by 0.8% compared to the same month last year. On the other hand, chemical products (-6.8%), machinery and precision instruments (-12.5%), passenger cars (-14.1%), and petroleum products (-18.6%) decreased.

By region, exports increased to Southeast Asia (9.1%) and the European Union (EU, 0.9%) compared to the same month last year, while exports to China (-0.7%), Japan (-2.4%), and the United States (-5.2%) decreased.

Imports amounted to $47.35 billion, down 4.4% year-on-year. Although capital goods such as semiconductor manufacturing equipment continued to increase, raw material imports continued to decline, and consumer goods also turned to a decrease. Based on customs clearance in November last year, imports of raw materials such as petroleum products (-19.4%), chemical products (-17.2%), crude oil (-16.8%), and coal (-12.5%) decreased by 10.2% year-on-year. Consumer goods such as passenger cars (-30.9%) and grains (-10.2%) also decreased by 6.3%. On the other hand, imports of capital goods such as semiconductor manufacturing equipment (77.4%), semiconductors (24.5%), and precision instruments (0.6%) increased by 11.3%.

The services balance recorded a deficit of $2.09 billion, centered on processing services, travel, and other business services. The travel balance decreased by $760 million due to the disappearance of the effect of the Chinese National Day holiday in the previous month. The deficit widened compared to the previous month (-$480 million). The transportation balance recorded a deficit of $200 million.

The primary income balance showed a surplus of $1.94 billion, mainly from interest income. The secondary income balance recorded a deficit of $300 million.

The financial account net assets, which show capital inflows and outflows, increased by $9.76 billion in November last year. The scale shrank compared to the previous month ($12.98 billion). Direct investment saw an increase of $2.84 billion in domestic investors' overseas investments and a decrease of $10 million in foreign investors' domestic investments.

In securities investment, domestic investors' overseas investments increased by $390 million, mainly in bonds, while foreign investors' domestic investments decreased by $2.12 billion, mainly in stocks.

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