South Korea’s current account remained in surplus for the ninth consecutive month thanks to strong semiconductor and automobile exports.
According to provisional statistics on the balance of payments released by the Bank of Korea (BOK) on March 8, the nation’s current account surplus stood at US$3.05 billion in January.
It was the ninth consecutive month of a surplus since May 2023, but the size of the surplus was smaller than the surplus amount of US$7.41 billion in December 2023.
“The current account surplus narrowed in January from the previous month due to seasonal factors at the beginning of 2024, but on a trend basis, the surplus continued to be favorable due to improvement in exports that began in earnest in the second half of 2023,” a BOK official said.
“Considering the increase in the size of the trade balance surplus in February, the current account surplus is likely to climb a bit in February,” he said. “The surplus will continue to be centered on the goods balance in the first half of the year, and the surplus will be further widened in the second half of this year.”
Breaking down the current account in January, the goods balance (US$4.24 billion) was positive for the 10th consecutive month since April 2023. Compared to the same month last year (-US$7.35 billion), it turned positive within a year.
Exports (US$55.52 billion) were 14.7 percent higher than those in January of 2023. This was the fourth consecutive month of growth after rebounding from a year-on-year decline in October 2023.
By items, semiconductors (+52.8 percent), passenger vehicles (+24.8 percent), machinery and precision equipment (+16.9 percent), and petroleum products (+12.0 percent) increased significantly. By region, exports to the United States (+27.1 percent), Southeast Asia (+24.4 percent), and China (+16.0 percent) showed clear recoveries.
In contrast, imports (US$50.98 billion) declined by 8.1 percent, with raw materials imports down 11.3 percent year-on-year, mainly due to a drop in energy prices.
Among commodities, gas, chemicals, and coal were down 42.3 percent, 16.3 percent, and 8.2 percent, respectively. However, crude oil (+6.0 percent) and petroleum products (+24.2 percent) increased. Capital goods, mainly information and communication equipment (-16.1 percent), fell by 3.8 percent, while consumer goods such as passenger cars (-44.6 percent) and grain (-6.5 percent) shrank by 4.2 percent. The BOK explained that this was due to sluggish domestic demand.