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S.Korea May c/a surplus more than halves

Reuters - Friday, June 26

SEOUL, June 26 - South Korea's seasonally adjusted current account surplus in May more than halved from April on a smaller goods account surplus and as the services account deficit almost doubled, central bank data showed on Friday.

The current account -- the broadest measure of foreign trading in goods and services -- stood at a seasonally adjusted surplus of $3.12 billion in May, compared with a revised $6.47 billion surplus in April, the Bank of Korea said in a statement.

The goods account surplus in May fell to a seasonally adjusted $5.19 billion from a revised surplus of $7.14 billion in April, the data showed.

Exports to China, South Korea's biggest overseas market, dropped 25.5 percent in May from a year ago before seasonal adjustment, compared with a revised 19.2 percent fall in April.

Shipments to the United States declined 24.0 percent in May from a year before, compared with a revised 22.8 percent fall in April.

The services account deficit in May jumped to a seasonally adjusted $2.04 billion from a revised $1.19 billion shortfall in April.

Still, Asia's fourth-largest economy posted a seasonally adjusted surplus of $18.9 billion in the first five months of the year, compared with a $1.5 billion deficit a year earlier.

On Thursday, the government raised its current account surplus forecast for this year to about $25 billion from the previous $16 billion surplus forecast. [ID:nSEO169321]

The Bank of Korea, in April, revised its current account surplus forecast for all of this year to $18.0 billion from the prior $22.0 billion.

Before seasonal adjustments, South Korea posted a current account surplus of $3.63 billion in May, compared with a revised $4.25 billion surplus in April, the Bank of Korea said.

It also said South Korea's foreign borrowing rose by a net $3.11 billion in May after a net increase of $1.43 billion in April.

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