Data released by the Bank of Korea on Friday revealed that the nation's current account remained in surplus for the 39th consecutive month in July, propelled by robust export growth fueled by the worldwide artificial intelligence (AI) boom. According to the central bank, the current account surplus reached $42 billion in July, a decrease of $7.65 billion from June's figure.

However, compared to the same month last year, the surplus swelled by $30.1 billion. This reading stands as the second-highest monthly figure on record, trailing only June's $49.73 billion, and represents the strongest performance for any July in history. The Bank of Korea noted that the goods account surplus hit $40.43 billion in July, with exports jumping 65.3% year-on-year to reach $100.4 billion.

The central bank also highlighted that the primary income account posted a surplus of $4.35 billion, supported by increased equity income.