S. Korea's external debt down in Q1: BOK data

▲ Staff members inspect bills at a branch of the Bank of Korea in Suwon, south of Seoul, on Jan. 17, 2023. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)

foreign debt-Q1 tally

S. Korea's external debt down in Q1: BOK data

SEOUL, May 24 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's external debt declined in the first quarter of this year amid worries over mounting economic uncertainty, central bank data showed Wednesday.

The country's external liabilities had come to US$665 billion as of end-March, compared with $665.2 billion tallied three months earlier, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).

The decline stemmed from a reduction in long-term external borrowing by the government and the central bank, which offset a rise in short-term debt by banks.

Of the total, the country's short-term debt that matures in a year increased by $7.2 billion on-quarter to $173.7 billion, while the long-term debt contracted $7.5 billion over the same period to $491.3 billion, the data showed.

The ratio of short-term debt to foreign reserves rose by 1.4 percentage points to 40.8 percent. A lower ratio means stronger debt-serving capability.

The ratio of short-term debt to total external liabilities also rose 1.1 percentage points on-quarter to 26.1 percent, the data showed.

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