SEOUL, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- South Korea logged a current account surplus for the 31st consecutive month due to strong demand for locally-made semiconductors and cars, central bank data showed Friday.
Current account balance, the broadest measure of cross-border trade, recorded a surplus of 12.24 billion U.S. dollars in November of 2025, staying in black since May 2023, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
It was higher than a surplus of 6.81 billion dollars in the previous month on robust demand for chips and cars.
Trade surplus for goods came to 13.31 billion dollars in November, higher than 7.82 billion dollars in October.
Exports gained 5.5 percent from a year earlier to 60.11 billion dollars in November, while imports retreated 0.7 percent to 46.80 billion dollars.
Service account deficit hit 2.73 billion dollars in November, lower than a deficit of 3.75 billion dollars in the previous month.
Primary income account, which includes monthly salary and investment income, registered a surplus of 1.83 billion dollars on solid dividend income from foreign stock investment.
Financial account, which gauges cross-border capital flow without transactions in goods and services, achieved a net outflow of 8.27 billion dollars in the cited month.
Overseas direct investment by domestic residents swelled by 4.09 billion dollars, while foreign direct investment in South Korea climbed by 1.76 billion dollars.
For the portfolio investment, which includes stock and bond trading, overseas investment by local residents jumped by 12.26 billion dollars, while foreign investment in local stocks and bonds mounted by 5.74 billion dollars. ■
