South Korea saw a current account surplus of $8.64 billion in May, the Bank of Korea said on Thursday - remaining in the black for the 16th straight month and marking the highest monthly surplus ever.
The headline figure more than doubles the April surplus of $3.97 billion.
The goods account surplus widened substantially to $7.27 billion from $3.54 billion in the preceding month.
The services account surplus narrowed to $1.13 billion from $1.45 billion the preceding month, due to the worsening for instance of the use of intellectual property account, the bank said.
The primary income account shifted from a $1.09 billion deficit in April to a $0.19 billion surplus due to the substantial improvement in the income on equity account.
The secondary income account saw a surplus of $0.04 billion - while the financial account recorded a net outflow of $11.58 billion, up sharply from $2.57 billion the previous month.
Direct investment shifted to a net outflow of $1.48 billion from a net inflow of $0.30 billion a month earlier as inward investment decreased.
Portfolio investment saw a net outflow of $1.17 billion, less than $1.92 billion in the previous month, due to the reversal to a net inflow of foreign investors' equity investment.
Financial derivatives posted a net inflow of $0.65 billion.
Other investment recorded a net outflow of $8.53 billion, larger than $1.58 billion in April, owing mainly to the shift to a net redemption of domestic financial institutions' borrowings.
Reserve assets increased by $1.04 billion. The capital account saw a deficit of $0.02 billion.
Seasonally adjusted, the current account surplus was $7.82 billion, up from $4.8 billion in April.
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