S. Korea posts current account surplus in May

5월 경상수지 흑자 전환…상품수지는 5년4개월만에 최저

As we just mentioned briefly, South Korea's current account was back in the black in May.
The month before saw the country's first deficit in seven years.
Our Kim Da-mi has the details.
South Korea's current account surplus amounted to 4-point-95 billion U.S. dollars in May.
That's a turnaround from the six-hundred-60 million dollar deficit posted the month before amid sluggish exports.
The BOK attributed the turnaround to a smaller services account deficit and the absence of the seasonal surge in dividend payouts that affected April's figures.
It's not all good news though,...as the surplus for May is just forty-one percent of what it had been 12 months earlier.
In addition,... despite the turnaround from April, the goods account surplus in May hit its lowest level in 5 years at 5-point-4 billion dollars.
The agency pointed to a fall in exports on slowing global demand and falling chip prices.
The country's bread and butter semiconductor exports dropped 30 percent on-year in May.
That's the biggest drop since March 2009, 10 years ago.
Imports decreased slightly by one percent during the same period due to weak energy prices as well as less machinery imports.
The services account deficit narrowed the most since 2017,... thanks to more Chinese visitors to the country and fewer Koreans traveling overseas.
The current account surplus from January to May this year totaled 15-point-5 billion dollars,... far below the central bank's goal of 25 billion dollars.
Kim Da-mi, Arirang News.