Korea's current account surplus stays high

Korea's current account surplus widened to USD9.4bn in the month of November, from October's SD9.1 bn, which came in below expectations, which were based on larger goods balance.

Bigger surplus was mainly due to narrow services deficit and rise in primary income surplus, which counter balances a smaller surplus in the sector of goods.

This deficit in services account narrowed to USD 1.3 bn in November from USD 1.7bn in October, led by a much smaller deficit in the intellectual property account along with the travel account.

"With only month remaining in the year, and the YTD surplus standing at USD98.0bn, we see upside risks to our 2015 forecast of USD105bn (BoK: USD110bn; 2014: USD89.2bn). We maintain our 2016 forecast of USD90bn", says Barclays in a research note.