The opening day of the global mobile technology gala MWC Barcelona of Spain on March 2 sees visitors to the Samsung Electronics booth trying out the extended reality headset Galaxy XR. (Samsung Electronics)

By Xu Aiying

The Bank of Korea on March 6 reported a current account surplus in January of USD 13.26 billion thanks in part to strong semiconductor exports based on tentative data on the international balance of payments.

The goods balance was USD 65.51 billion, up 30% year on year. By item, semiconductors (102.5%), wireless communication devices (89.7%), computer peripherals (82.4%) and cars (19%) showed strong increases, with export growth especially robust in Southeast Asia (59.9%), China (46.8%) and the U.S. (29.4%).

Imports rose 7% to USD 50.34 billion. Due to falling energy prices, those of raw materials such as petroleum products (18.7%), crude oil (12.8%) and gas (12.5%) declined.

The services balance finished USD 3.8 billion in the red primarily because of travel and other business services. The primary income balance posted a surplus of USD 2.72 billion thanks to dividend income.

Net financial assets saw a rise of USD 5.63 billion in January. Koreans invested USD 7.04 billion more abroad while foreign investors raised their exposure in Korea by USD 5.34 billion.

In securities investment, Korean investment abroad grew USD 13.46 billion primarily in stocks while that by foreign investors in Korea rose USD 4.69 billion mainly in bonds.

xuaiy@korea.kr