According to Channel News Asia , figures released by the Bank of Korea on Wednesday show that S Korea registered a record current-account surplus of USD 42.67bn in 2009 against a deficit of USD 5.78bn in the previous year. During the year, exports declined by 13.7% y/y to USD 373.6bn, while imports declined by 25.7% y/y to USD 317.5bn. The goods balance surplus came in at USD 56.1bn, up from USD 5.67bn in the previous year. The service account showed a deficit of USD 17.2bn compared to USD 16.7bn in 2008. The income account surplus declined to USD 4.55bn in 2009 from USD 5.9bn in the previous year. The capital account registered a record net inflow of USD 26.5bn compared to a net outflow of USD 50.1bn in 2008. In December alone, the current account surplus came in at USD 1.52bn compared to USD 4.28bn in the previous month.
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