South Korea saw a current account deficit of $0.77 billion in January, the Bank of Korea said on Tuesday, falling into the red for the first time in 23 months.
That still beat forecasts for a shortfall of $2.5 billion after showing a surplus of $3.959 billion in December, $5.046 billion in November and $4.23 billion in October.
The goods account shifted to a deficit of $1.42 billion as exports declined substantially, the bank said, due for example to the tendency for corporations to boost performance as of year-end by booking exports in December and to the Lunar New Year.
The services account deficit narrowed to $0.13 billion from $0.21 billion in the previous month as the transport and the business services accounts improved greatly, offsetting the widened travel account deficit.
The primary income account surplus widened to $1.19 billion from December's $0.49 billion owing mostly to improved dividend earnings, the bank said. The secondary income account deficit widened from $0.18 billion the previous month to $0.41 billion.
The financial account shifted from December's net outflow of $3.50 billion to a net inflow of $1.22 billion. Direct investment saw a net outflow of $2.01 billion, up from $0.84 billion a month earlier as inward investment changed to a net withdrawal.
Portfolio investment shifted from a net outflow of $2.41 billion in December to a net inflow of $7.74 billion owing to a sharp inflow of foreign investors' investment in equity securities and a shift of their investment in debt securities to a net inflow, the bank said. Financial derivatives posted a net inflow of $0.43 billion. Other investment saw a net outflow of $2.28 billion due mostly to an increase in domestic banks' loans, the bank said. Reserve assets increased by $2.66 billion, while the capital account was roughly in balance.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.