SEOUL, KOREA - Korea's current account recorded a surplus for 15 consecutive months. The Bank of Korea said on May 29 that the current account surplus for the month of April was US$3.97 billion, down from a revised $4.93 billion in March. The cumulative surplus for the four months in 2013 has been $13.94 billion, three times more than the same period last year ($4.29 billion).
But analysts said Asia's fourth-largest economy is increasingly facing challenges as the Chinese economy is slowing and the weakening yen is hitting Korean exporters by making Japanese products relatively cheaper vis-a-vis Korean-made ones.
Kim Young-bae, head of economic statistics division at the Bank of Korea, said, "The reason the current account balance has shrunk compared to that for March was largely because of a rise in dividends paid out to foreign investors." "The adverse effect of the weak yen has not materialized yet as expected."
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