Current account surplus hits $88.3 billion in 2021

Hwang Sang-pil, director general of the central bank¡¯s economic statistics department, speaks at an online press conference held Thursday. [BANK OF KOREA]

Korea's current account surplus hit $88.3 billion last year, the largest since 2016.

Favorable exports as a result of the global economic recovery helped the balance last year. But the goods balance surplus withered in the second half as imports grew faster than exports driven by a rise in raw materials prices.

Korea's current account surplus in 2021 was higher than the $75.9 billion in 2020. But it was lower than the $92 billion earlier forecast by the Bank of Korea.

The current account surplus in December halved to $6.06 billion from a year earlier due to the $590-million trade deficit reported that month. It was the first time Korea reported trade deficit in 20 months. The country also reported a trade deficit in January due to the rise in energy prices.

In 2021, the goods balance, which measures inbound and outbound shipments, was $76.21 billion in surplus, down five percent from 2020. The service balance was $3.11 billion in deficit, compared to $14.67 billion deficit a year earlier.

"The goods surplus narrowed as export growth exceeded import growth for seven months straight as a result of a global rise in oil and raw material prices," a spokesperson for the central bank said.

The primary income account, which tracks wages of foreign workers and dividend payments overseas, was $19.33 billion in surplus, up 43 percent on year. For the financial account, which covers cross-border investments, the balance reported was $76.78 billion, down 5.7 percent.

BY JIN MIN-JI [jin.minji@joongang.co.kr]