"Semiconductors and Passenger Cars Lead" Current Account Surplus Hits $10.78 Billion... Record July High (Updated)

In July, South Korea's current account surplus reached 10.78 billion dollars, setting a new all-time high for the month of July. This was mainly driven by strong exports, particularly in semiconductors and passenger cars. The travel account deficit also narrowed as the number of foreign visitors to Korea increased during the summer peak season.

Yonhap News Agency

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According to the "Preliminary Balance of Payments for July 2025" released by the Bank of Korea on September 4, South Korea recorded a current account surplus of 10.78 billion dollars in July, marking the largest July surplus on record. This marks the 27th consecutive month of surplus since May 2023, making it the second-longest surplus streak since the 2000s. The surplus was larger than the same period last year (9.05 billion dollars), but smaller than the record high of the previous month (14.27 billion dollars).

The goods account, which makes up the largest portion of the current account, posted a surplus of 10.27 billion dollars. This is the third-largest July surplus on record, following July 2018 and July 2016. The surplus expanded compared to the same month last year (8.52 billion dollars), but decreased compared to the previous month (13.16 billion dollars).

Compared to the same period last year, exports increased while imports decreased. Exports reached 59.78 billion dollars, up 2.3% year-on-year. Semiconductors in the IT sector and passenger cars in the non-IT sector performed strongly, leading to two consecutive months of export growth. However, exports declined compared to the previous month. In July, customs-cleared semiconductor exports surged 30.6% year-on-year to 14.91 billion dollars. Passenger car exports rose 6.3% to 5.49 billion dollars. In contrast, exports of computer peripherals (-17%), pharmaceuticals (-11.4%), and petroleum products (-6.2%) decreased.

Imports totaled 49.51 billion dollars, down 0.9% from the same month last year. Due to falling energy prices, imports declined for the first time in a month. However, compared to the previous month, imports increased by 4.9% as the volume of energy imports expanded. In July, customs-cleared imports of raw materials fell 4.7% year-on-year to 24.49 billion dollars, mainly due to decreases in crude oil (-16.7%), petroleum products (-5.8%), and coal (-2.9%). Gas imports increased by 0.2%. Imports of capital goods rose 6.2% to 20.47 billion dollars, with semiconductor manufacturing equipment (27.7%), information and communications devices (12.6%), and semiconductors (9.4%) all increasing. However, imports of transportation equipment dropped sharply by 33.8%. Imports of consumer goods also increased by 4.2% to 9.24 billion dollars. Passenger car imports rose 9.6%, and direct consumer goods imports increased by 8.6%. However, grain imports fell by 15.4%.

The service account, which includes the travel account, recorded a deficit of 2.14 billion dollars, narrowing from the previous month's deficit of 2.53 billion dollars. The travel account deficit shrank to 900 million dollars, as the number of foreign visitors to Korea increased during the summer peak season.

The primary income account posted a surplus of 2.95 billion dollars, mainly due to dividend income. However, the surplus narrowed compared to the previous month (4.16 billion dollars). The dividend income account recorded a surplus of 2.58 billion dollars, narrowing from the previous month's 3.44 billion dollars, as direct and portfolio investment dividend receipts decreased compared to the previous month.

Net external assets, calculated as assets minus liabilities in the financial account, increased by 11.08 billion dollars. This was a smaller increase compared to the previous month (17.92 billion dollars).

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