current account-January
S. Korea's current account surplus dives in January amid soaring oil, commodity prices
SEOUL, March. 11 (Yonhap) -- South Korea continued to post a current account surplus in January, but the surplus sharply declined compared with a year earlier as imports expanded sharply amid soaring oil and commodity prices, central bank data showed Friday.
The current account surplus came to US$1.81 billion in January, marking the 21st straight month that the current account has remained in the black, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).
The figure, however, was much smaller than the same month a year earlier when the country logged $6.78 billion in surplus. It was also sharply down from a surplus of $6.06 billion tallied in the previous month.
The contraction came as imports grew at a fast clip driven mostly by soaring oil and commodity prices, despite robust exports.
Crude oil and other raw material prices have been rising, driven by strong demand from an economic recovery in major countries and global supply chain disruptions. South Korea depends mostly on imports for its energy needs.
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