New Landmark Expected
South Korea’s current account surplus this year is expected to surpass US$100 billion (108.85 trillion won), recording an all-time high. This figure is also the 5th largest in the world.
However, this surplus will not occur from increasing exports from Korean companies. Rather, it is because imports have decreased sharply compared to exports due to low oil prices and sluggish domestic demand.
The National Assembly Budget Office (NABO) released their “2015 Revised Economic Prospect” on Dec. 31, saying it expected the current account surplus at US$108.7 billion (118.32 trillion won) this year.
This figure is greatly above not only the US$79.9 billion (86.97 trillion won) of 2013, an all-time high on an annual basis, but also the US$89.8 billion (97.75 trillion won) of last year.
Only four countries posted more than a US$100 billion (108.85 trillion won) current account surplus as of 2013.
Germany posted the world's biggest current account surplus with US$254.9 billion (277.46 trillion won), followed by China with US$182.8 billion (198.98 trillion won), Saudi Arabia with US$132.6 billion (144.34 trillion won), Switzerland with US$103.9 billion (113.1 trillion won), and the Netherlands with US$87.1 billion (94.81 trillion won). Korea ranked 6th in current account balance with US$79.9 billion (86.97 trillion won).
NABO said stagnant domestic demand leading to a slowdown of imports and falling oil prices are the major reasons for the huge current account surplus. It also predicted that exports would increase 2.9 percent next year, while imports would rise 0.1 percent in terms of customs clearance.