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Current Account Surplus Surges
The current account surplus soared to a monthly record high in November on strong exports, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said Thursday.
The current account surplus came at $4.24 billion in November, up $2.48 billion from a month earlier and the largest monthly total.
The current account has recorded surpluses for three straight months, and is expected to remain in the black for months to come, it said.
``Brisk exports boosted the current account surplus in November, despite a rise in service account deficits,’’ said Chung Sam-yong, head of the bank’s balance of payments statistics team. ``Outbound shipments were much larger than expected, although we don’t think a surplus of this scale will happen in December.’’
After posting a deficit of $390 million in July and $630 million in August, the current account swung to a surplus of $1.4 billion in September and $1.73 billion in October.
The cumulative current account surplus in the first 11 months of this year amounted to $5.95 billion, compared with $14.7 billion a year earlier. The country is expected to easily achieve its revised target of a $6 billion current account surplus this year, the central bank said.
The current account is the broadest measure of trade, services and investment that flows into and out of the country.
# The Korea Times [Deceember 29, 2006]
By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter
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