S. Korea’s current account swings to deficit in Nov. on slow chip exports

[Sources : Samsung Electronics, Yonhap]

South Korea’s current account logged a deficit in November of last year for the first time in three months due to a plunge in chip exports.

According to tentative data released by the Bank of Korea on Tuesday, the country’s current account balance recorded a deficit of $620 million in November, a significant $7.44 billion drop from a surplus of $6.82 billion a year ago.

As a result, the cumulative current account surplus in the January-to-November period contracted to $24.37 billion, less than one-third of $82.24 billion recorded for the same period in 2021. It marked the first deficit in three months after turning to a deficit of $3.05 billion in August. The country’s current account balance maintained a surplus for 23 consecutive months from May 2020 to March last year, but in April it ran into a deficit due to a surge in imports and foreign dividends.

The deficit was attributed to sluggish exports, which fell by 12.3 percent on-year in November, with shipments of semiconductors and chemicals dropping 28.6 percent and 16 percent, respectively, in the month amid concerns about a global economic slowdown.

Imports, however, grew 0.6 percent on-year to $53.88 billion, with imports of raw materials up by 4.8 percent.