S. Korea posts record-high current account deficit with Mideast

• Source: Xinhua
• [18:23 June 17 2009]
• Comments

South Korea posted a record-high current account deficit with Middle East in 2008 on the back of oil price rise, the central bank said Wednesday.

 According to the Bank of Korea (BOK), South Korea's current account deficit with Middle East topped 67.5 billion US dollars in 2008, sharply larger than the previous year's deficit of 45 billion US dollars.

 The 2008 figure marked the largest deficit since 1998 when related data began being compiled.

 The deficit was largely attributed to soaring oil prices last year, which in turn triggered a sharp rise in South Korea's import amount while exports marked a strong surplus, the bank explained.

 In 2008, South Korea posted its first in 11 years annual current account shortfall with 6.41 billion US dollars.