South Korea's current account swung back to the black in December from the previous month, but the amount was quite smaller than a year before as exports dwindled amid growing global recession woes, central bank data showed Wednesday. The country's current account surplus came to $2.68 billion in December, compared with a shortfall of $220 million a month earlier, according to the preliminary data by the Bank of Korea. The current account is the broadest measure of cross-border trade.

Financial authorities to push for allowing offshore transactions, extending forex market hours until 2 a.m.

South Korea and Australia have agreed to extend their currency swap agreement by another five years, in a bid to continue to increase trade and improve financial stability. Under the extension, the Bank of Korea and the Reserve Bank of Australia can exchange their local currencies up to 9.6 trillion won or 12 billion Australian dollars ($7.69 billion). The deal follows the previous agreement made in February 2020. The initial currency swap agreement between South Korea and Australia was sealed i

SK ecoplant, the engineering and construction unit under SK Group, announced Monday that its North American unit has been renamed from BETEK to SK ecoplant Americas as part of efforts to renew its commitment to the all-important market. Under the new name, SK ecoplant Americas plans to ramp up efforts to expand its presence in environment and energy sectors, as well as existing fuel-cell businesses. Its core fuel-cell business, based on a value chain from product development to application techn

  SEJONG -- South Korea's exports are anticipated to remain sluggish "at least" through the first six months of 2023, the finance minister said Friday, while inflation is expected to slow in the latter half. Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho made the remark ahead of a closed-door meeting with economy-related ministers, after South Korea reported sluggish export figures and worrisome inflation data for January earlier this week. "Exports have lost ground for four consecutive mont

South Korea plans to sell 13 trillion won ($10.6 billion) in state bonds this month, the finance ministry said Thursday. The ministry will issue 2.4 trillion won in Treasurys with a maturity of three years and another 2.1 trillion won in five-year government bonds in February, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. It also plans to sell 2.3 trillion won in bonds with a maturity of 10 years, 1 trillion won in 20-year Treasurys and float 3.1 trillion won in bonds with a maturity of 30 y

Korea's central bank faces tough decision on its key rate as gap with US benchmark rate widens

South Korea's financial minister said Thursday the overnight rate-hike decision by the US Federal Reserve has eased market uncertainties, although the government will continue to keep a watchful eye on potential volatility. Earlier in the day, Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho and other officials, including Bank of Korea Gov. Rhee Chang-yong, held an emergency meeting on macroeconomic situations. The meeting came hours after the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark rate by 25 basis points to a

South Korea's on-year growth in consumer prices accelerated from the previous month in January as energy costs shot up to a record level, data showed Thursday, amid expectations inflation will gradually slow throughout 2023. Consumer prices, a key gauge of inflation, rose 5.2 percent last month from a year earlier, compared with 5 percent growth estimated in December, according to the data from Statistics Korea. Inflation rose by 5 percent or higher for the ninth month in a row. It increased at

Central bank warns of negative impact of US-China relations, geopolitical conflicts on Korea's key export industries

Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho said Wednesday that South Korea recorded a trade deficit last month due to higher energy imports, but its trade performance is anticipated to gradually improve down the road on the back of China's reopening. The remark came after the export-reliant economy suffered the largest-ever monthly trade deficit in January, with outbound shipments logging an on-year decline for the fourth consecutive month. "The increased trade deficit in January was blamed on sea

South Korea's exports logged an on-year decline for the fourth consecutive month in January on weak global demand for semiconductors and other items amid an economic slowdown, the industry ministry said Wednesday. The country also suffered the largest ever monthly trade deficit on high energy prices last month, deepening concerns over the country's economic growth momentum. Outbound shipments fell 16.6 percent on-year to come to $46.27 billion in January, following a 9.5 percent on-year fall the

The basic taxi fare in Seoul rose by 1,000 won ($0.8) to 4,800 won on Wednesday, marking the first hike in nearly four years. The Seoul metropolitan government raised the base rate for midsized sedan cabs operating in the capital city starting 4 a.m. The last hike was carried out in February 2019. The distance covered in the basic fare was shortened to 1.6 kilometers from the previous 2 km, and an additional 100 won is charged for every 131 meters of travel distance, changed from the previous 13

Consultative bodies to be set up across government offices to speed up bilateral talks, follow-up measures

World's third-largest retirement fund banks on large-cap tech shares and foreign markets in bid to stave off fund exhaustion