Balance of Payments Trends during September 2009
(preliminary)
October 2009
Economic Statistics Department
The Bank of Korea
□ The current account surplus in September 2009 was 4.20 billion dollars, an increase from the previous month's 1.91 billion dollars, as the goods account surplus widened.
― The goods account surplus amounted to 5.45 billion dollars, up from the previous month's 3.33 billion dollars.
― The services account deficit narrowed to 1.63 billion dollars, from 1.79 billion dollars a month earlier, as the travel account deficit shrank and the transport account surplus widened.
― The income account surplus registered 0.55 billion dollars, down from 0.59 billion dollars in August due to a decrease in dividend receipts.
― The current transfers account deficit declined to 0.16 billion dollars from the previous month's 0.22 billion dollars.
<The current account registered a surplus of 32.22 billion dollars during the January September period.>～
Current Account Trends
□ The capital and financial account registered a net inflow of 7.24 billion dollars in September 2009, an increase over the previous month's 5.46 billion dollars.
― The direct investment account recorded a net outflow of 0.23 billion dollars, larger than the previous month's 0.11 billion dollars, as residents' outward direct investment expanded slightly.
― The portfolio investment account showed a net inflow of 7.92 billion dollars, up from the previous month's 4.06 billion dollars, as foreigners' investment in equity securities and bonds issued in Korea rose significantly.
― The financial derivatives account marked a net outflow of 0.30 billion dollars, down from the previous month's 0.72 billion dollars as receipts related to financial derivatives transactions increased.
― The other investment account shifted from the previous month's net inflow of 2.18 billion dollars to a net outflow of 0.14 billion dollars, as the allocation of Special Drawing Rights(SDRs) by the IMF decreased while domestic financial institutions' bills bought in foreign currency increased.
< The capital and financial account recorded a net inflow of 23.44 billion dollars for the first nine months of the year. >
□ Reserve assets increased by 11.22 billion dollars in September 2009.
< Reserve assets increased by 52.45 billion dollars during the first nine months of the year. >
Balance of Payments Summary Table
1)2)(In 0.1 billion U.S. dollars, %)
2008p 2009p
September Jan~Sep Augustr September Jan~Sep . Current account
Ⅰ -13.5 -139.3 19.1 42.0 322.2
<-22.3> <-109.6> <16.5> <36.6> <326.2>
1. Goods -8.9 10.3 33.3 54.5 408.8
Exports(FOB) 381.6 3,383.4 302.6 351.5 2,668.9
(26.8) (24.2) (-17.7) (-7.9) (-21.1)
(customs clearance) 374.3 3,289.4 289.6 345.1 2,607.0
(27.6) (22.6) (-20.9) (-7.8) (-20.7)
Imports(FOB) 390.5 3,373.1 269.2 297.0 2,260.0
(45.4) (33.8) (-32.0) (-23.9) (-33.0)
(customs clearance) 395.3 3,437.5 273.9 298.0 2,299.1
(45.4) (34.1) (-32.2) (-24.6) (-33.1)
2. Services -12.4 -150.3 -17.9 -16.3 -112.2
Credit 64.7 573.9 45.9 48.4 427.4
Debit 77.0 724.2 63.8 64.7 539.6
3. Income 7.9 24.0 5.9 5.5 26.3
Credit 18.4 172.3 11.8 12.0 112.2
Debit 10.5 148.3 5.9 6.5 85.9
4. Current transfers -0.2 -23.2 -2.2 -1.6 -0.7
Credit 10.6 92.2 9.1 10.6 95.5
Debit 10.7 115.4 11.2 12.3 96.2
. Capital & financial
Ⅱ account -43.9 -91.3 54.6 72.4 234.4
1. Direct investment -3.3 -99.9 -1.1 -2.3 -26.4
2. Portfolio investment -29.7 -163.9 40.6 79.2 401.9
3. Derivatives -27.6 -53.5 -7.2 -3.0 -68.1
4. Other investment 16.1 232.9 21.8 -1.4 -86.3
5. Capital transfers and acquisition of
non-financial assets 0.7 -6.9 0.5 0.1 13.2
. Changes in reserve
Ⅲ assets3) 49.3 224.5 -71.0 -112.2 -524.5
. Errors & omissions
Ⅳ 8.1 6.0 -2.8 -2.3 -32.1
Notes : 1) Figures in ( ) represent year-on-year changes.
2) Figures in < > represent seasonally-adjusted figures.
3) Negative figures represent increases in reserve assets.
