S. Korea logged current account surplus for 22nd straight month in February

For the twenty-second month in a row, Korea's current account remained in the black with a surplus of over 7-billion dollars in February.

Lee Soo-jin covers the latest findings.

South Korea's current account stayed in the black for the 22nd month in a row in February.

According to data from the Bank of Korea on Tuesday, the country logged a near 7-point-2 billion U.S. dollar current account surplus in the second month of the year.

This also marks a sharp increase from January's surplus , when there were fewer working days on account of the Lunar New Year holiday.

It comes as the goods balance, which tracks exports and imports of products and accounts for the largest portion of the current account, recorded an 8-point-2 billion dollar surplus , also marking a significant increase from the previous month.

This extends the surplus streak for the goods balance to 23 consecutive months.

Exports rose 3-point-6 percent compared to the previous year on strong demand for computers, computers, pharmaceuticals, cars, and IT equipment.

But outbound shipments of chips dropped compared to the previous year, a decline recorded for the first time since October 2023.

"Exports of lower-value DDR4 memory chips fell slightly in February due to price drops, but picked up again in March despite competition from China. Still, it's something we'll need to watch closely."

The size of the country's service balance once again remained in the red, with the deficit deepening compared to the previous month.

This was mostly due to the larger shortfall in the intellectual property account from increased payments by domestic firms to overseas companies for R&D-related royalty fees.

When asked about when the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs will be felt, the same official said the current account surplus will likely continue through March, with effects starting to show in April,

but that while sectors like autos and auto parts will be affected, the impact is expected to be gradual, not immediate.

Lee Soo-jin, Arirang News.