S. Korea posts US$2.85b trade surplus in Feb
2011-03-01 18:04:10
South Korea posted a higher-than-expected trade surplus of $2.85 billion in February, data showed Tuesday, with solid export gains outweighing rising prices for imported oil and other commodities.
The preliminary figures show Asia's fourth largest economy remains resilient despite downside risks from overseas.
Some analysts said the central Bank of Korea has room to raise interest rates next week as authorities try to control inflation.
"We expect the data will allay BOK concerns about the downside risk to growth, which increases the likelihood of a rate hike (in) March," ING economist Tim Condon wrote in a research note.
The surplus was much larger than the $1.11 billion forecast by economists polled by Dow Jones Newswires.
Exports in February rose 17.9 per cent from a year earlier to $38.96 billion while imports increased 16.3 per cent to $36.11 billion.
The surplus showed a slight decline from a revised $2.92 billion surplus for January, due to fewer working days in February because of the annual three-day Chuseok holiday.
But average daily exports reached a record high of $2.05 billion last month.
Barclays Capital said in a report it expects a fresh rate rise next week from the current 2.75 per cent, and an increase every two months thereafter to take the figure to 3.5 per cent by July.
Annual inflation rose to 4.1 per cent in January and economists expect it to increase to 4.3 per cent this month.
On Monday Finance Minister Yoon Jeung-Hyun told parliament the country faces the "worst" conditions to keep prices stable and inflationary pressures are likely to remain high in the coming months.