Risk and sentiment
Korea Current Account
Seasonally adjusted Korean current-account balance.
Latest
38,121 mn USD
+4,727 mn USD
At a glance
Korea Current Account: latest value and prior change
As of 2026-05-31, Korea Current Account is 38,121 mn USD. It is 4,727 mn USD higher than 33,394 mn USD on 2026-04-30.
Across 437 available observations from 1990-01-31 to 2026-05-31, the latest value is at the tie-adjusted 100th percentile.
- Observed on
- Default comparison window
- 1990-01-31–2026-05-31
- Observations · observed cadence
- 437 · Monthly
- Data source
- Bank of Korea ECOS
A high or low percentile does not by itself make the indicator positive, negative, or a buy or sell signal.
Time-series chart
Korea Current Account
1990-01-31–2026-05-31
Long-history series are stored as real provider observations. Index, FX, VIX, and ratio charts use historical backfill where providers expose it; Korean investor flow and margin-credit feeds expand as stable historical endpoints become available.
Interpretation guide
Using the current account to gauge won fundamentals
Korea's current account, published monthly by the Bank of Korea, sums goods, services, primary income, and secondary income flows to show whether the country earned or spent dollars in its external dealings. Sustained surpluses underpin dollar supply at home, supporting the won and the backdrop for foreign capital flows.
Decompose the four components
A surplus of a given size means different things depending on what drives it. The goods balance reflects the export cycle, services capture travel and transport demand, and primary income records dividends and interest earned on overseas investments.
- A goods-led surplus signals an improving manufacturing export cycle; verify it against Korea Exports YoY.
- When primary income sustains the surplus, check whether overseas dividend receipts are masking weak trade.
- Widening services deficits often track outbound travel, so read them alongside shifts in household spending.
Transmission to the won and FX markets
Surpluses typically translate into exporter dollar selling, which supports the won. But if earned dollars flow back out through overseas securities purchases, the won can stay weak despite a surplus, so the financial account matters as much as the headline.
- A weak won during a surplus streak points to capital outflows or broad dollar strength as the driver.
- Around April, foreign dividend remittances seasonally depress primary income, so discount that dip.
- Several consecutive deficit months warrant a check on Korea FX Reserves for signs of eroding buffers.
Common misreadings
A surplus is not automatically good news. A recession-type surplus created by imports falling faster than exports reflects weak domestic demand, so the headline alone can invert your read of the economy.
- When the surplus widens, decompose whether exports rose or imports fell, using Korea Imports YoY.
- Monthly figures are noisy; judge the trend on three-month or twelve-month cumulative sums.
- Seasonally adjusted and unadjusted series differ, so confirm you are comparing the same basis.