South Korea earned US$116.63 billion more from the world than it spent in the second quarter of this year – exceeding the combined current account surpluses of Germany and Japan for the first time on record.
The current account measures a country’s trade and income with the world. It counts goods and services sold abroad, money earned on overseas investments and payments flowing the other way. A surplus means more foreign currency is coming in than going out.
Surging demand for semiconductors helped propel South Korea’s second-quarter surplus, with chip exports reaching US$113.89 billion in the three months to June, according to government figures – up 181.6 per cent from the same period last year.
Prices for memory chips have jumped in recent months amid the global artificial intelligence boom. In June, US manufacturer Micron Technology reported that its prices had risen by as much as 80 per cent quarter on quarter.