ID :
43273
Fri, 01/30/2009 - 07:14
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/43273
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S. Korea logs current account deficit of US$6.41 bln in 2008
SEOUL, Jan. 30 (Yonhap) -- South Korea posted its first annual current account shortfall in 11 years in 2008 as soaring oil prices raised import bills, the central bank said Friday.
The current account deficit reached US$6.41 billion last year, a turnaround from
a revised surplus of $5.88 billion a year earlier, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said
in a report. The country logged the current account shortfall for the first time
since 1997 when the deficit reached $8.3 billion.
But in December the country logged a current account surplus of $860.8 million,
down from a revised $1.91 billion the previous month, marking the third straight
month of surplus.
The current account is the broadest measure of trade, service and investment
flows into and out of a country.
The report comes as a cumulative shortfall of the current account, coupled with
rising overseas debt and sell-offs of local stocks by foreign investors, battered
the local currency in 2008. The won fell 25.7 percent against the U.S. dollar
last year, becoming one of the world's worst-performing currencies.
The goods balance posted a surplus of $5.99 billion in 2008, sharply down from a
revised $28.2 billion surplus in 2007 as a jump in oil and other raw material
prices increased imports.
Oil prices have been sliding since they peaked at US$147 per barrel in July.
South Korea, the world's fifth-largest crude buyer, relies entirely on imports
for its oil needs.
Customs-cleared exports grew 13.6 percent year-on-year to $422 billion last year
and imports rose 22 percent to $435.3 billion.
The shortfall of the service account, which includes South Korean spending on
overseas trips, narrowed to $16.7 billion, compared with a revised $19.8 billion
deficit a year ago.
The income account, which tracks wages for foreign workers and dividend payments
overseas, logged a surplus of $5.11 billion last year, up from $1 billion in
2007.
The capital account, which tracks cross-border investments, posted a net outflow
of $50.9 billion in 2008, compared with a net inflow of $7.13 billion the
previous year. It was the largest capital account net outflow since 1980 when the
BOK began to compile related data.
The BOK said in December that the country's current account for this year is
expected to swing into the black at around $22 billion.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
(END)
The current account deficit reached US$6.41 billion last year, a turnaround from
a revised surplus of $5.88 billion a year earlier, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said
in a report. The country logged the current account shortfall for the first time
since 1997 when the deficit reached $8.3 billion.
But in December the country logged a current account surplus of $860.8 million,
down from a revised $1.91 billion the previous month, marking the third straight
month of surplus.
The current account is the broadest measure of trade, service and investment
flows into and out of a country.
The report comes as a cumulative shortfall of the current account, coupled with
rising overseas debt and sell-offs of local stocks by foreign investors, battered
the local currency in 2008. The won fell 25.7 percent against the U.S. dollar
last year, becoming one of the world's worst-performing currencies.
The goods balance posted a surplus of $5.99 billion in 2008, sharply down from a
revised $28.2 billion surplus in 2007 as a jump in oil and other raw material
prices increased imports.
Oil prices have been sliding since they peaked at US$147 per barrel in July.
South Korea, the world's fifth-largest crude buyer, relies entirely on imports
for its oil needs.
Customs-cleared exports grew 13.6 percent year-on-year to $422 billion last year
and imports rose 22 percent to $435.3 billion.
The shortfall of the service account, which includes South Korean spending on
overseas trips, narrowed to $16.7 billion, compared with a revised $19.8 billion
deficit a year ago.
The income account, which tracks wages for foreign workers and dividend payments
overseas, logged a surplus of $5.11 billion last year, up from $1 billion in
2007.
The capital account, which tracks cross-border investments, posted a net outflow
of $50.9 billion in 2008, compared with a net inflow of $7.13 billion the
previous year. It was the largest capital account net outflow since 1980 when the
BOK began to compile related data.
The BOK said in December that the country's current account for this year is
expected to swing into the black at around $22 billion.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
(END)
