South Korea's current account for July posted the largest surplus ever for the month of July, driven by a sustained boom in semiconductor exports.

According to the preliminary balance of payments statistics released by the Bank of Korea today (September 4), the country's current account surplus for July stood at $42.08 billion (approximately 57 trillion won).

On a monthly basis, this marks the second-largest surplus in history, following June ($49.73 billion).

It is the largest ever for the month of July.

The cumulative current account surplus from January to July of this year reached $233.09 billion.

This is close to four times the level recorded during the same period last year ($59.82 billion).

On August 27, the Bank of Korea significantly revised its annual current account surplus projection for this year from the previous $250 billion to $450 billion.

Exports ($100.45 billion) surged 65.3% compared to a year earlier.

This resulted from increases in both information technology (IT) and non-IT items.

This marks the second time in history that monthly merchandise exports exceeded $100 billion, following June ($112.37 billion).

Imports ($60.02 billion) also rose by 21.7%, but at a slower pace than the export growth rate.

(Photo provided by the Bank of Korea, Yonhap News)