South Korea's current account swung back to the black in December from the previous month, but the amount was quite smaller than a year before as exports dwindled amid growing global recession woes, central bank data showed Wednesday. The country's current account surplus came to $2.68 billion in December, compared with a shortfall of $220 million a month earlier, according to the preliminary da...

South Korean stocks rose Tuesday as investors picked up big-cap tech bargains following a sharp fall the previous session. The local currency fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 13.52 points, or 0.55 percent, to 2,451.71. Trading volume was moderate at 443.14 million shares worth 7.48 trillion won ($5.96 billion), with decliners outpacing gainers 496...

Financial authorities to push for allowing offshore transactions, extending forex market hours until 2 a.m.

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday as investors picked up tech blue chips following deep losses in the previous session. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 9.22 points, or 0.38 percent, to 2,447.41 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The gain bucked overnight losses on Wall Street amid rising bond yields and ahead of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's remarks on t...

Artificial intelligence engine makes decisions through module processing

South Korea and Australia have agreed to extend their currency swap agreement by another five years, in a bid to continue to increase trade and improve financial stability. Under the extension, the Bank of Korea and the Reserve Bank of Australia can exchange their local currencies up to 9.6 trillion won or 12 billion Australian dollars ($7.69 billion). The deal follows the previous agreement mad...

Seoul shares ended lower Monday, as strong US jobs data fueled fears of further rate hikes to tame inflation. The Korean won fell sharply to a monthly low against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 42.21 points, or 1.7 percent, to close at 2,438.19 points. Trading volume was moderate at 554 million shares worth some 7.54 trillion won ($6 billion), with decliners...

SK ecoplant, the engineering and construction unit under SK Group, announced Monday that its North American unit has been renamed from BETEK to SK ecoplant Americas as part of efforts to renew its commitment to the all-important market. Under the new name, SK ecoplant Americas plans to ramp up efforts to expand its presence in environment and energy sectors, as well as existing fuel-cell busines...

Seoul shares opened lower Monday, tracking losses on Wall Street, as the US Federal Reserve said last week it will continue to raise rates for a while to tame inflation. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 30.8 points, or 1.24 percent, to 2,449.60 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.4 percent to 33,926.01 points, whil...

Citibank Korea announced Friday that it signed a syndicated loan agreement with Posco Argentina to support the development of a salt lake with lithium reserves for Posco Holdings. As a joint mandated lead arranger, Citibank arranged a $412 million (505.4 billion won) syndicated loan for Posco Argentina with support from Korea Trade Insurance Corp. The agreement was reached on Jan. 25. “This dea...

SEJONG -- South Korea's exports are anticipated to remain sluggish "at least" through the first six months of 2023, the finance minister said Friday, while inflation is expected to slow in the latter half. Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho made the remark ahead of a closed-door meeting with economy-related ministers, after South Korea reported sluggish export figures and worrisome inflation data fo...

Seoul shares opened slightly lower Friday as investors digest the US Federal Reserve's latest rate decision earlier this week. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index slipped 2.98 points, or 0.12 percent, to 2,465.9 points as of 9:23 a.m. Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped 3.25 percent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.11 percent. The Fed raised the bench...

South Korea plans to sell 13 trillion won ($10.6 billion) in state bonds this month, the finance ministry said Thursday. The ministry will issue 2.4 trillion won in Treasurys with a maturity of three years and another 2.1 trillion won in five-year government bonds in February, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. It also plans to sell 2.3 trillion won in bonds with a maturity of 10...

Seoul shares closed higher Thursday, tracking gains on Wall Street, after the Federal Reserve delivered a small rate hike while acknowledging progress in its battle against inflation. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 19.08 points, or 0.78 percent, to close at 2,468.88 points. Trading volume was moderate at 682.5 million shares worth...

Korea's central bank faces tough decision on its key rate as gap with US benchmark rate widens