SEOUL: Korea posted a current account surplus for the 37th straight month in March.The Bank of Korea says preliminary data shows the surplus hit almost 10.4 billion U.S. dollars, up nearly 42 percent from the same month last year. The figure marks the highest level since a record 11.3 billion surplus in November 2014.At this rate, Korea is likely to break its previous record surplus streak of 38 months, which started back in June 1986.
The balance of goods rose to over 11 billion dollars last month, up from about seven.three billion in February, as imports shrank at a faster rate than exports.
Exports fell 8.4 percent to nearly 50 billion dollars, while imports plunged almost 17-percent to about 38 billion.
It did slow from last month, but falling exports coupled with a drop in imports points to a surplus trend that mainly stems from sluggish domestic demand.
“The decline in both exports and imports will likely continue for some time. Although the export volume hasn’t fallen that much, export prices have dropped significantly. Imports have also slumped, due to a decline in raw material prices and slowing domestic consumption.”
The expert said that while Korea will probably hit the central bank’s 96 billion dollar current account surplus target for this year, it doesn’t indicate an improving economy.
