South Korea's current account recorded a surplus for the 81st month in a row in November last year.<br />However, the size of the surplus tumbled to a seven-month low.... due to slower export growth.<br />Ko Roon-hee reports. <br />South Korea's current account, which records the nation's transactions with the rest of the world, including its trade in goods and services, has now recorded a surplus each and every month for almost seven years.<br /><br />However, data from last November show the size of the surplus slid to its lowest level since April 2018.<br /><br />According to the Bank of Korea, the current account posted a surplus of almost 5-point-1 billion U.S. dollars in November...down from 7-point-4 billion a year earlier. <br /><br />The central bank attributed the lower numbers to a smaller surplus in the goods account,... mainly due to slower export growth. <br />The goods account had a surplus of around eight billion dollars... down from eleven-point-five in November 2017.<br />Exports edged up a mere half-a-percent on-year in November, mainly due to falling semiconductor prices. <br />Analysts say there's lower demand, because many data centers around the world have been postponing their purchases of semiconductors. <br />These centers refer to centralized locations where computing and networking equipment is concentrated for storing or processing large amounts of data. <br /><br />Another reason is slowing global growth. <br />According to a World Trade Organization forecast in September, global trade growth will grind to three-point-nine percent in 2018,...a slowdown from the four-point-seven percent recorded in 2017.<br />Analysts say the ongoing trade war between the U.S. and China is hurting the global economy, including South Korea's export-driven economy.<br /><br />The services account deficit fell to around two-point-three billion dollars from a deficit of three-point-three billion a year earlier.<br />This was due to an improvement in the travel account... as South Korea saw an uptick in number of visitors from China and Japan.<br />Ko Roon-hee, Arirang News. <br />
