Current account surplus reaches $1.05 billion in Nov.

Korea appeared to be consolidating its stance as a net creditor country, with income account balance which includes interest earnings on overseas loans posting an all-time high of $270 million last month.

The current account surplus stood at $1.05 billion in November to keep the balance in the black for the seventh consecutive month since last May. As a result, the accumulated current account surplus increased to $9.67 billion. But the figure is only 42.3 percent of the surplus of $22.85 billion reported during the same period last year.

The Bank of Korea (BOK) said Thursday that its goods-account surplus came to $1.10 billion in November, down $310 million from the previous month.

The nation exported $11.24 billion worth of goods in November, a mere 6.8 percent increase from the same period last year, while imports increased 20.8 percent to reach $14.17 billion due to rises in international oil prices.

The BOK also announced that as of the end of October, the nation had overseas assets worth $160.5 billion and $138.4 billion in foreign debt, bringing its net overseas assets to $22.1 billion.

Officials explained that the income account surplus increased sharply last month after the nation saw profits from the operation of foreign exchange holdings. Interest payments were also reduced after the nation paid back some bad overseas loans it borrowed amid the economic crisis in October.