SEOUL, July 5 (Xinhua) -- South Korea logged current account surplus in May due to solid export, central bank data showed Friday.
Current account balance, the broadest measure of cross-border trade, recorded a surplus of 8.92 billion U.S. dollars in May after posting a deficit of 290 million dollars in the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
For the first five months of this year, the current account surplus came to 25.47 billion dollars, turning around from a deficit of 5.03 billion dollars in the five-month period of last year.
Trade surplus for goods stood at 8.75 billion dollars in May, up from 5.11 billion dollars in April. The trade balance stayed in black for the 14th straight month since April 2023.
Export advanced 11.1 percent from a year earlier to 58.95 billion dollars in May, while import decreased 1.9 percent to 50.2 billion dollars.
The outbound shipment kept an upward trend for the eighth consecutive month on the back of strong demand for locally-made semiconductors, mobile devices, oil products, and automobiles.
Service account deficit amounted to 1.29 billion dollars in May, down from a deficit of 1.66 billion dollars in April.
Primary income account, which includes monthly salary and investment income, registered a surplus of 1.76 billion dollars on overseas dividend income.
Dividend income account logged a surplus of 1.13 billion dollars in May after posting a deficit of 3.58 billion dollars in the prior month.
Financial account, which measures cross-border capital flow without transactions in goods and services, recorded a net outflow of 7.58 billion dollars in the cited month.
Overseas direct investment by domestic residents climbed by 6.33 billion dollars, while foreign direct investment in South Korea increased by 790 million dollars.
For the portfolio investment, which includes stock and bond trading, overseas investment by local residents soared by 7.1 billion dollars, while foreign investment in local stocks and bonds expanded by 2.32 billion dollars. ■
