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On the local front.
South Korea's current account shifted back into positive territory in May with a SURPLUS of NEARLY 3.9 BILLION U.S. dollars.
Despite the favorable finding the surplus fails to compare with the well over 6.5 BILLION dollars recorded in May last year.
SHIN HA-YOUNG has details.

South Korea's current account surplus in May rebounded back from a deficit posted a month earlier.
According to data released by the Bank of Korea on Thursday, the balance of trade in May amounted to a surplus of almost 3.9 billion U.S. dollars.
The surplus was led by strong exports of goods in May, which rose about 20 percent from a year earlier.
However, the surplus was down more than 6.5 billion dollars compared to a year before as the cost of importing raw materials soared amid the war in Ukraine and lockdowns in China.
The goods account surplus dropped to 2.7 billion U.S. dollars from 6.6 billion dollars last year.
The cost of importing raw materials jumped 53 percent on-year, halving the goods account surplus when compared to 2021's figure.

The Bank of Korea says the rise in the import of goods and a decrease in the primary income surplus were the reasons behind the overall current account surplus.

"The Korean current account surplus was down from a year earlier as growth in imports of goods exceeded exports.
It is also because the primary income surplus decreased mainly due to a surge of dividend income in May last year."

Meanwhile, services saw a deficit of 20 million dollars for the first time since January, although the figure was up from a year earlier due to a large surplus in the transport account.
Shin Ha-young, Arirang News.