S. Korea’s external debt down for 2nd quarter in Q2: data

South Korea's external debt decreased for the second consecutive quarter amid a fall in long-term debts, central bank data showed Wednesday. The country's external liabilities had come to US$658.3 billion as of end-June, compared with $667.5 billion three months ago, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. The data showed that a decline in long-term external borrowing offset a rise in long-term debt. Of the total, the country's short-term debt that matures in a year rose by $900 million on-quarter to $142 billion, while long-term debt fell $10.1 billion over the same period to $516.3 billion, the data showed. The ratio of short-term debt to foreign reserves increased by 0.8 percentage point to 34.4 percent. A lower ratio means a stronger debt-serving capability. The ratio of short-term debt to total external liabilities also rose 0.4 percentage point to 21.6 percent, the data showed. Meanwhile, the country's net foreign financial assets stood at $858.5 billion at the end of June, up $ 27.5 billion from three months ago, the highest ever on record. Source: Yonhap News Agency