SEOUL: South Korea recorded a $98.6 billion trade surplus in 2016, which is 6.8% less than in 2015, mainly due to the fall in crude oil prices, the Bank of Korea reported on Friday.
Asia’s fourth largest economy had managed to obtain a $105.94 billion trade surplus in 2015. Exports, which account for almost 50% of South Korean GDP, declined in 2016 by 5.7% year-on-year to $511.78 billion.
Imports also experienced a 7% drop over the previous year to $391.33 billion, according to data from the central bank. South Korea’s balance of services deficit increased by 18% year-on-year to $17.61 billion, compared to $14.92 billion in 2015.
The income balance saw a $1.46 billion surplus, a 59.1% drop from the $3.5 billion balance in 2015. The central bank on Friday also released data on the balance of payments for December 2016, the month in which the country’s surplus shrank 2.8% year-on-year to $7.8 billion.
South Korea’s trade surplus in December, which marked its 58th consecutive month of positive balance, was also 12.46% lower than in November.
The balance of payments, which reflects payments and revenues from foreign exchange of goods, services, income and current transfers, is considered one of the broadest trade indicators for a country.
