Jan-April Current Account Surplus Tops $100 Billion, Fueled by Semiconductor Exports

The Bank of Korea announced preliminary international balance of payments statistics for April on the 5th.

The cumulative current account surplus from January to April reached $102.67 billion, with the surplus for April alone recorded at $28.29 billion. The goods balance in April recorded a surplus of $33.88 billion, the second-largest on record. Driven by strong exports of IT items, particularly semiconductors, overall exports in April surged by 54.5% year-on-year to $90.59 billion.

The services balance recorded a deficit of $2.42 billion in April. The travel balance posted a deficit of $30 million, and the primary income balance turned to a deficit of $2.53 billion in April.

Net asset increase in the financial account decreased compared to the previous month. Foreign investment in domestic stocks saw a decrease of $1.24 billion in April.