South Korea saw a current account surplus of $3.96 billion in December, the Bank of Korea said on Monday - remaining in the black for the 22nd consecutive month. That was just shy of forecasts for a surplus of $4 billion, and down from the $5.046 billion surplus in November and the $4.23 billion surplus in October.
The goods account registered a surplus of $3.85 billion due to favorable exports, the bank said - most notably those of steel products and passenger cars. The services account shifted to a $0.21 billion deficit, as the deficits in the travel and the business services accounts widened.
The primary income account surplus widened to $0.49 billion from November's $0.45 billion. The secondary income account deficit narrowed from $0.24 billion in the previous month to $0.18 billion.
The financial account saw a net outflow of $4.15 billion, down from $6.29 billion in November, the bank noted. Direct investment recorded a net outflow of $0.84 billion, down from $2.08 billion in the previous month, as outward investment decreased and inward investment increased.
Portfolio investment showed a net outflow of $2.41 billion due to the shift to a large net outflow of foreign investors' investment in debt securities, the bank said. Financial derivatives posted a net outflow of $0.16 billion.
Other investment registered a net outflow of $0.64 billion due mostly to domestic banks' repayments of their borrowings. Reserve assets increased by $0.09 billion, while the capital account was in balance.
For all of 2011, South Korea posted a current account surplus of $27.65 billion, easily surpassing the central bank's projection of $15.5 billion for the year. The financial account saw a net outflow of $32.76 billion for all of 2011.
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