The Bank of Korea (BOK) reported on Wednesday that South Korea had a surplus in its current account for the fifth consecutive month in September. This was mainly due to a larger trade surplus and increased dividend income from abroad.
The current account surplus totaled $5.42 billion, an increase from the $4.98 billion in the previous month. The country’s goods account registered a surplus of $7.42 billion, the highest since September 2021’s figure of $9.5 billion. This was attributed to a 14.3% decline in imports, which was greater than the 2.4% decrease in exports.
In addition, the primary income account, which covers wages of foreign workers, dividends from overseas and interest income, posted a surplus of $1.57 billion in September, following a surplus of $1.46 billion in August. On the other hand, the services account had a deficit of $3.19 billion, compared to a deficit of $1.57 billion in August.
From January to September, the country had a current account surplus of $16.58 billion, significantly lower than the $25.75 billion surplus from the same period a year earlier. The BOK predicted that the surplus for the year would be around $27 billion.