[속보]Current account surplus of $880 million in October… $7.1 billion down from a year ago

Last October, the current account recorded a surplus for two consecutive months, but the surplus narrowed significantly as the goods account turned into a deficit. The current account surplus was the second smallest this year.

According to the “Balance of International Payments (Provisional) October 2022” published by the Bank of Korea on the 9th, the current account balance recorded a surplus of $880 million in October, continuing the surplus for two consecutive months.

However, the current account surplus in October was the second smallest this year, with the previous low being a surplus of $790 million in July. Compared to the same month last year, the size of the surplus decreased by $7.13 billion.

Among the current account balance, the goods balance due to imports and exports of goods turned from a surplus of $6.1 billion in the same month of the previous year to a deficit of $1.48 billion. Previously, the goods balance recorded a deficit of $1.43 billion and $4.45 billion in July and August, respectively.

Based on the international balance of payments, exports in October were 52.59 billion dollars, down 6.0% from the same month last year, down for the second consecutive month.

On the other hand, imports increased by 8.5% to $54.07 billion, increasing for 22 consecutive months. Based on customs clearance, October exports fell 5.7% to $52.48 billion, while imports increased 9.9% to $59.18 billion.

The size of the service account surplus fell from US$640 million in the same month a year earlier to US$50 million due to a decline in the transport account surplus. The size of the basic income account surplus widened from $1.25 billion in the same month a year earlier to $2.26 billion due to an increase in dividend income.

The transfer income account realized a surplus of 50 million dollars.

The financial account, which shows capital inflows and outflows without transactions in goods and services, recorded a net asset increase of $2.53 billion in October.

By sector, direct investment increased by 2.75 billion dollars in foreign investment by Koreans and 810 million dollars in foreign domestic investment. In terms of securities investment, Koreans’ foreign investment decreased by 1.56 billion dollars, while foreign domestic investment increased by 3.55 billion dollars.

Derivatives increased by $2.02 billion. Other investments increased $1.86 billion in assets and decreased $3.42 billion in liabilities. Reserve assets decreased by $1.6 billion.