The Bank of Korea (BOK) reported on Wednesday that South Korea has posted a current account surplus for the fifth consecutive month in September, mainly due to a broadened trade surplus and higher dividend income from abroad.
The current account surplus for September totaled $5.42 billion, following the surplus of $4.98 billion in August. The country’s goods account registered a surplus of $7.42 billion, the highest since September 2021 when it was $9.5 billion, thanks to a decrease in imports of $8.02 billion, or 14.3 percent, which was larger than the $1.35 billion, or 2.4 percent, reduction in exports.
The primary income account, which includes wages of foreign workers, dividend payments from overseas and interest income, had a surplus of $1.57 billion in September, up from $1.46 billion the previous month. On the other hand, the services account posted a deficit of $3.19 billion in September, a wider gap than the $1.57 billion deficit in August.