S. Korea's current account surplus narrows in November

All News 08:00 January 08, 2021

By Kim Deok-hyun

SEOUL, Jan. 8 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's current account surplus narrowed on month in November last year, mainly due to a decline in investment income, the central bank said Friday.

The current account surplus reached US$8.97 billion in November, narrowing from a surplus of $11.66 billion the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The current account is the broadest measure of cross-border trade.

Since the country logged a deficit of $3.33 billion in April last year, the largest in almost a decade, on faltering exports amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the current account has stayed in the black for seven straight months.

The goods balance logged a surplus of $9.54 billion in November, smaller than a surplus of $10.15 billion tallied the previous month.

The surplus of the primary income account stood at $420 million in November, compared with a surplus of $970 million.

Exports, which account for half of the South Korean economy, rose 4.1 percent on-year to $45.84 billion in November, while imports fell 1.9 percent to $39.94 billion.

The country's overseas shipments have been battered by the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic this year. But the pace of the slump has eased since June as major economies slowly began resuming business activities and easing border lockdowns.