S. Korea sees current account surplus in July for third straight month as exports and imports drop
7월 경상수지 석달 연속 흑자 수출보다 수입 감소폭 더 커 Despite a continued decline in exports in chips and petroleum products the South Korean economy posted another trade surplus with imports falling greater than exports on lower energy prices. Our Park Kun-woo has the details. South Korea's current account was in the black in July for the third consecutive month. According to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea on Friday, the country's current account for July saw a surplus of 3-point-5-8 billion U.S. dollars, as imports dropped deeper than exports. The current account has been in positive territory since May although the latest figure was a slip of some 2-point-3 billion dollars compared to the month before. The cumulative surplus from the beginning of the year to July amounts to some 6 billion dollars, which is just a quarter of the figure for the same period in 2022. South Korea's goods balance saw a surplus for the fourth straight month in July despite exports falling 14-point-8 percent on-year, while imports were down 22-point-7 percent from the year before. In terms of exports, petroleum products and semiconductors both shrank on-year, while autos and home appliances were the only categories that saw an increase during the same period. By region, outbound shipments saw a significant decrease in China and South East Asia. Imports saw an even greater drop in terms of both the volume and ratio due to fewer inbound raw material shipments on the back of lower energy prices. "We expect the decreasing trend to continue at a slower pace in August and September and the increase in exports will be in the positive territory in the fourth quarter." The Central Bank official added Korea is moving toward economic improvement, and not a slump despite some concerns over recent import and export figures. The country's service balance saw a deficit once again in July as the travel account decrease almost doubled on-year. This was caused by a soar in overseas travel after COVID-19 measures were eased. In terms of direct investment, Korean investment in overseas markets and foreign investment in the Korean market rose, while foreign stock investment saw the highest jump since May, 2022. Park Kun-woo, Arirang News. #SouthKorea #economy #current_account_surplus #inflation #price #import #export #Bank_of_Korea #한국경제 #경상수지 #Arirang_News #아리랑뉴스 📣 Facebook : / arirangtvnews 📣 Twitter : / arirangtvnews 📣 Homepage : https://arirang.com/ 2023-09-08, 12:00 (KST)
