S. Korea's Q2 current account surplus ranks 2nd on robust chip exports
SEOUL, Oct. 25 (Yonhap) -- South Korea posted the second-largest current account...
South Korea achieved its second-largest current account surplus among major economies in the second quarter, exceeding the combined surpluses of Germany and Japan, according to Bank of Korea data released on Sunday. The nation's surplus amounted to US$116.63 billion for the April-June period, narrowly trailing China's $193.72 billion surplus.
Germany's surplus stood at $52.28 billion, followed by Japan's $50.62 billion. Collectively, Germany and Japan's surplus totaled $102.9 billion, which was $13.73 billion less than South Korea's. This marked the first instance since comparable data for all three nations began in 1996 that South Korea's surplus surpassed their combined total.
The current account surplus more than quadrupled from $28.39 billion a year earlier, vastly outpacing the 11.9% growth in Germany and the 5% increase in Japan. The substantial surge was primarily fueled by a surge in semiconductor exports, driven by escalating chip prices and strong global demand. According to the Ministry of Data and Statistics, South Korea's semiconductor exports skyrocketed 181.6% year-over-year to $113.89 billion in the second quarter.
Written by urgent.news from Yonhap News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
