Overseas card spending in S. Korea hits record high in Q3 on rising travel demand

Seoul, Nov 25 South Koreans' overseas card spending reached an all-time high in the third quarter, driven by increased overseas travel during the summer holiday period, data showed on Tuesday.

Overseas credit and debit card spending reached a record $5.93 billion in the July-September period, up 7.3 per cent from the previous quarter, according to data from the Bank of Korea (BOK), reports Yonhap news agency.

The previous record was $5.71 billion in the third quarter of 2024.

"The increase was mainly attributable to higher demand for overseas travel during the summer vacation period, while transactions from overseas online shopping remained at a similar level to the previous quarter," a BOK official said.

Government data showed that the number of outbound travelers rose 4.8 per cent on-quarter to 7.09 million in the third quarter, while overseas online shopping made with credit cards edged down 1.2 per cent to $1.53 billion.

Meanwhile, non-residents' card spending in South Korea reached $3.76 billion in the third quarter, slightly below the $3.79 billion posted in the second quarter when the figure hit a record high.

Meanwhile, South Korean stocks traded higher late Tuesday morning as investors were boosted by revived hopes for a rate cut in the United States.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) had added 36.91 points, or 0.96 per cent, to 3,882.97 as of 11:20 a.m.

Overnight, some dovish comments from Fed members and eased concerns over inflated AI valuation pushed up major U.S. stocks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.44 per cent, and the Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.69 per cent.

In Seoul, tech and defense shares led the upbeat mode.

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