NEW DELHI, November 7: South Korea earned a current account surplus of $61.46 billion in September 2026, the Bank of Korea said on Thursday, as exports of goods jumped 92.4% from a year earlier to $130.72 billion. The surplus was more than four times the $14.22 billion recorded in September 2025 and well above August’s $46.11 billion.
Key highlights
- Current account: a surplus of $61.46 billion in September, up from $46.11 billion in August.
- Goods: a surplus of $62.75 billion; exports rose 92.4% to $130.72 billion and imports rose 29.4% to $67.97 billion.
- Services: a deficit of $3.35 billion, mainly from other business services and travel.
- January–September: a cumulative surplus of $340.66 billion, against $83.89 billion in the same period of 2025.
- Foreign selling of Korean shares: non-residents’ holdings of Korean equity securities fell by $13.74 billion in September in transaction terms.
- Reserves: official foreign reserves stood at $443.2 billion at the end of October, up $2.6 billion in the month.
| Item | September 2025 | August 2026 | September 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current account | $14.22 bn | $46.11 bn | $61.46 bn |
| Goods balance | $15.43 bn | $46.81 bn | $62.75 bn |
| Exports (balance-of-payments basis) | $67.95 bn | $104.80 bn | $130.72 bn |
| Imports (FOB) | $52.53 bn | $57.99 bn | $67.97 bn |
| Services balance | −$3.48 bn | −$1.68 bn | −$3.35 bn |
| Primary income | $3.04 bn | $1.92 bn | $2.65 bn |
| Secondary income | −$0.76 bn | −$0.94 bn | −$0.59 bn |
What drove the surplus
The goods account did almost all the work. Exports on a balance-of-payments basis nearly doubled from a year earlier, while imports grew by less than a third, leaving a goods surplus of $62.75 billion. South Korea’s customs-basis figures for October, released at the start of the month, showed the same pattern, with exports up 93.7% and semiconductors making up about half of shipments, as we reported in our story on Korea’s October exports.
The services account stayed in deficit at $3.35 billion. Other business services (−$1.72 billion), travel (−$0.77 billion) and payments for the use of intellectual property (−$0.77 billion) were the largest minus items. The primary income account, which covers returns on investment, showed a surplus of $2.65 billion, helped by income on equity of $2.24 billion.
Money flowing out, and foreign selling
On the financial account, Korea’s net foreign assets rose by $54.34 billion in September. Korean residents added $16.63 billion of overseas securities and $11.43 billion of direct investment abroad. At the same time, non-residents reduced their holdings of Korean equity securities by $13.74 billion, extending a trend seen through the year: from January to September, foreign holdings of Korean shares fell by $114.50 billion in transaction terms, according to the Bank of Korea’s table.
Reserve assets on a balance-of-payments basis fell by $0.27 billion in September. In a separate release on November 4, the Bank of Korea said official foreign reserves were $443.2 billion at the end of October, up from $440.6 billion a month earlier. Securities made up $382.4 billion of that and deposits $36.3 billion.
Our calculation
- September’s surplus of $61.46 billion is 4.3 times the $14.22 billion of September 2025.
- The nine-month surplus of $340.66 billion is 4.1 times last year’s $83.89 billion for the same months.
- Exports for January–September reached $864.05 billion, up 63.5% from $528.44 billion; imports rose 20.2% to $520.20 billion.
- Foreign selling of Korean equities in September ($13.74 billion) was close to a quarter of the month’s current account surplus.
What it means for India and Asia
Korea’s numbers show how strongly global spending on artificial intelligence hardware, especially memory chips, is flowing to a few Asian exporters. The surplus gives Seoul a large cushion of foreign earnings at a time when energy import bills are high across the region. For India, which buys memory chips, displays and electronic components from Korea for its phone and electronics factories, a chip market this tight can mean higher input costs.
The heavy foreign selling of Korean shares is a reminder that the same AI trade can reverse quickly. Global technology stocks fell sharply this week, as we explained in our explainer on the US market sell-off.
What to watch
- The Bank of Korea’s balance of payments for October, which will show whether the export surge held.
- Monthly customs export data for November, especially semiconductor shipments.
- Whether foreign investors keep selling Korean shares after the global tech sell-off.
A container terminal at the port of Busan, South Korea’s busiest port. Image: Martin Pueschel Eastberliner, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Photo source · Licence
Sources
- Bank of Korea: Balance of Payments during September 2026 (preliminary), November 5, 2026
- Bank of Korea: Official Foreign Reserves (October 2026), November 4, 2026
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