Current Account Surplus for 6 Months... "Able to Achieve Forecasts for This Year"

[Anchor]
The current account, the final report card for international trade, has been in the black for six months.

The surplus was smaller than in September, but the BOK was confident of achieving a $90 billion forecast this year.

[Reporter]
Last October, the current account surplus was $9.78 billion.

It's the third largest ever as of October, but the surplus is down from the previous month.

Exports, our economic support, were greatly affected.

Although semiconductors and passenger cars continued to be strong, the decline in petroleum products dragged down the overall export volume.

In addition, as imports increased, the surplus in the goods balance plunged by more than $2.3 billion from September.

However, the service account deficit, which is a chronic deficit, decreased slightly and the primary income balance increased further, supporting the overall surplus.

The Bank of Korea was confident of achieving a $90 billion current account forecast this year despite slowing exports.

[Song Jae-chang / Head of Financial Statistics Department, Bank of Korea: If it reaches $15.76 billion (in November and December), it seems that this year's annual forecast can be achieved. Even if the import and export figures based on customs clearance in November are good (the surplus continues)]....]

Even if export growth slows down, imports will slow down due to falling international oil prices, and the goal of a $80 billion surplus next year is expected to be no problem.

However, the Bank of Korea explained that it is necessary to watch the speed and intensity of the policy as the Trump administration's tariff hike, which will be officially launched next year, could affect the current account.

I'm Lee Hyungwon of YTN.

Video editing: Jung Kook-yoon
Design: Lee Won-hee