26.11.201419:17:00UTC+00South Korea Current Account Surplus $9.01 Billion

South Korea posted an unadjusted current account surplus of $9.01 billion in October, the Bank of Korea said on Thursday.

That follows the upwardly revised $7.41 billion surplus in September (originally $7.20 billion).

The goods account surplus widened to $8.86 billion, from $7.51 billion the previous month. The services account deficit registered $0.25 billion, similar to September's level.

The primary income account surplus widened to $0.97 billion from $0.61 billion the previous month due to a decrease in payments on the equity account.

The secondary income account saw a deficit of $0.36 billion.

The financial account saw a net outflow of $6.80 billion, down from $8.76 billion in the previous month.

Direct investment recorded a net outflow of $2.09 billion, less than the $2.15 billion in the previous month, as foreigners' direct inward investment increased.

Portfolio investment saw a net outflow of $0.38 billion, down from $3.52 billion in September, due to the reduction of residents' outward portfolio investment and the shift to a net inflow of foreigners' portfolio investment, the bank said.

Financial derivatives posted a net outflow of $0.57 billion.

Other investment saw a net outflow of $4.01 billion, up from $1.88 billion a month earlier - despite the shift to net borrowings by domestic financial institutions, as overseas loans and deposits by domestic financial institutions increased, the bank noted.

Reserve assets fell $0.25 billion.

Seasonally adjusted, the current account surplus was $7.32 billion, up from the downwardly revised $4.99 billion (originally $5.20 billion).