South Korea January Current Account Surplus $3.05 Billion

South Korea posted a current account surplus of $3.05 billion in January, the Bank of Korea said on Friday – down from $7.41 billion in December.

The goods account recorded a $4.24 billion surplus as exports increased annually by 14.7 percent to $55.22 billion and as imports decreased by 8.1 percent to $50.98 billion, both compared to one year earlier.

The services account posted a $2.66 billion deficit owing to deficits in the manufacturing services and travel accounts.

The primary income account recorded a $1.62 billion surplus due to an increase in the income on equity.

The secondary income account saw a $0.15 billion deficit.

Looking at the financial account, net assets increased by $2.81 billion during January.

Direct investment assets increased by $2.16 billion, and direct investment liabilities increased by $0.22 billion, resulting in a net increase of $1.94 billion.

There was a $6.51 billion increase in portfolio investment assets during the month, and a $6.52 billion increase in portfolio investment liabilities, leading to a net decrease of $0.01 billion.

Financial derivatives posted a net increase of $0.51 billion.

In terms of other investments, there was a net increase of $2.56 billion with an increase of $9.00 billion in assets and an increase of $6.45 billion in liabilities.

Reserve assets decreased by $2.19 billion.