South Korea's current account surplus reached a one-year high in June as exports of ships and other major products remained robust, the central bank said Wednesday.
The surplus was 5.04 billion dollars in June, up from a revised 3.82 billion the previous month and the largest surplus since 5.38 billion dollars in June 2009, the Bank of Korea said in a statement.
The current account -- the broadest measure of trade with the world -- was in the black for the fifth straight month in June, lending support to the won which has fallen about one percent against the dollar so far this year.
The goods balance posted a surplus of 6.35 billion dollars in June, compared with a 4.17 billion surplus the previous month, thanks to strong exports of ships, cars and semiconductors.
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| South Korea's current account surplus has reached a one-year high in June as key exports remained robust. AFP |
Exports rose 31.7 percent to 41.6 billion dollars last month and imports increased 41.1 percent to 35.2 billion.
"Looking ahead, we expect export growth to remain solid for the rest of the year as strong China demand should offset weaker European demand," Kwon Young-Sun, an economist at Nomura Securities, told Dow Jones Newswires.
"Foreign investors will continue to buy won-denominated bonds given Korea's sound economic fundamentals."
A shortfall in the service account, which includes spending by South Koreans on overseas trips, reached 1.67 billion dollars in June, larger than a 642.7 million deficit in May.
The income account, which tracks wages for foreign workers and dividend payments overseas, recorded a surplus of 326.5 million dollars compared with a surplus of 298.3 million the previous month.
The capital account, which records cross-border investments, posted a net outflow of 935.8 million dollars in June. This compared to a net outflow of 12 billion dollars in May, when foreign investors picked up local stocks and overseas borrowing increased.
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