▶Balance of Payments during March 2018(preliminary)

1. During March 2018 the Korean current account registered a surplus of 5.18 billion dollars (resulting in a 11.83 billion dollar surplus for the first quarter of the year as a whole).

- The goods account surplus widened to 9.88 billion dollars, compared to its 9.36 billion dollar figure in March of 2017.

- The services account deficit narrowed to 2.25 billion dollars, from 3.11 billion dollars in March last year, led by improvements in the travel and the transport accounts.

- The primary income account deficit widened from 0.52 billion dollars the year before to 1.58 billion dollars in March 2018, in line with an increase in the payments on equity account.

- The secondary income account showed a 0.87 billion dollar deficit.



2. In the financial account there was a 4.22 billion dollar increase in net assets in March (and a 12.55 billion dollar expansion in net assets for the first quarter of the year as a whole).

- Direct investment assets grew by 2.80 billion dollars, and direct investment liabilities by 1.28 billion dollars.

- There was a 5.82 billion dollar increase in portfolio investment assets during the month, and a 5.62 billion dollar increase in portfolio investment liabilities.

- Financial derivatives posted a net contraction of 1.46 billion dollars.

- In terms of other investment, there was an expansion of 0.70 billion dollars in assets and a decline of 2.08 billion dollars in liabilities.

- Reserve assets increased by 1.19 billion dollars.



(Source: The Bank of Korea, 04/05/2018)

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