| Containers fill the platform of a port in Busan. Yonhap |
South Korea's current account surplus widened in February as exports showed signs of a gradual recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, the central bank said Wednesday.
The current account surplus reached US$8.03 billion last month, widening from a surplus of $7.06 billion the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The current account is the broadest measure of cross-border trade.
Since the country logged a deficit of $3.33 billion in April last year, the largest in almost a decade, on faltering exports amid the pandemic, the current account has stayed in the black.
The goods balance logged a surplus of $6.05 billion in February, larger than a surplus of $5.73 billion the previous month.
Exports, which account for half of the South Korean economy, rose 9.5 percent on-year in February to extend their on-year gains for the fourth consecutive month on the back of brisk demand for chips and cars.
Exports came to $44.8 billion in February, compared with $40.9 billion a year earlier.
Imports gained 13.9 percent to $42.1 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $2.71 billion. It marked the 10th consecutive month for the country to post a trade surplus.
The country's overseas shipments have been battered by the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. But the pace of the slump has eased since June last year as major economies slowly began resuming business activities and easing border lockdowns. (Yonhap)