South Korea current account surplus expands in October

[SEOUL] South Korea's current account surplus in October rose to US$9 billion on growing exports of ships, memory chips and steel, state data showed Thursday.

The preliminary figure compared with a revised surplus of US$7.4 billion in September, the central Bank of Korea said.

The current account - the broadest measure of foreign trade in goods and services - has been in the black for two years and eight months.

Exports last month amounted to US$52.2 billion compared to US$50.7 billion in September as overseas shipments of ships, memory chips and electronic devices all rose.

Imports stood at US$43.5 billion, leaving an overall surplus of US$8.7 billion in the goods account.

The services account, which includes spending on overseas trips and royalty payments, saw its deficit shrink to US$250 million from US$280 million a month earlier.

Asia's fourth-largest economy has racked up an accumulated current account surplus of US$70.6 billion as of October.

It is on course to meet or exceed the central bank's target surplus of $84 billion for this year - a record high - Jung Joon, director of the BOK's financial statistics, told Yonhap news agency.

AFP