South Korea's fiscal deficit further widens this year

Seoul (The Uttam Hindu): South Korea's fiscal deficit grew markedly during the first nine months of 2024, the finance ministry here said on Thursday, partly due to increased expenditure. The managed fiscal balance, a key gauge of fiscal health calculated on stricter terms, posted a deficit of 91.5 trillion won ($65.1 billion) in the January-September period, up 20.9 trillion won from the same period last year, according to the finance ministry. This year's tally was the third-largest figure for the cited period, the ministry said. The shortfall came to 108.4 trillion won in the first nine months of 2020.

The deficit is nearly in line with the 91.6 trillion won forecast for the year, as outlined in this year's budget. "Given the ongoing revenue shortfalls, it is likely that the managed fiscal deficit will continue to grow as the year progresses," a ministry official said on condition of anonymity. Total expenditure went up by 24.8 trillion won from a year earlier to 492.3 trillion won during the cited period as the government spent more on supporting health care insurance subscribers and welfare programs, according to the ministry. Total revenue went up by 3.1 trillion won on-year to 439.4 trillion won over the same period.

South Korea's money supply rose for the 16th consecutive month in September from a month earlier amid an extended monetary tightening mode, central bank data showed. The country's M2, a key gauge of the money supply, stood at 4,070.7 trillion won ($2.89 trillion) in September, up 0.2 percent from the previous month, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The figure has been on a constant increase since June 2023. On a year-on-year basis, the money supply advanced 5.9 percent in September, a slight slowdown from a 6.1 percent on-year increase in August. The M2 is a measure of the money supply that counts cash, demand deposits and other easily convertible financial instruments.