Imports (customs clearance basis) for the year to August rose 15.8% year-on-year to stand at 167.4 billion By category, raw materials imports maintained their rapidly increasing trend, driven by higher oil prices, while capital goods and consumer goods imports both continued to build up steadily. (capital Account) For the year to July, the capital account saw a shift from a deficit of 0.9 billion dollars in the same seven month-period of the previous year to a surplus of 3.9 billion dollars. By component account, the scale of the direct investment account surplus shrank from 1.66 billion dollars for the same seven-month periods a year earlier to  1.5 million dollars. The portfolio investment account registered a deficit of 0.9 billion dollars for first seven months of the year  as domestic residents expanded their overseas securities investment while that of non-residents fell sharply centering on the share markets. In contrast, the other investment account showed a surplus of 6.2 billion dollars due to domestic bank' increased short-term foreign borrowings. 4 Foreign Exchange Markets. (Exchange rates) The Korea won continued to strengthen against  the US dollar in the early months of 2005, maintaining the trend evident since the October of the previous year, and for a while in late April it changed hands at below 1.000won per dollar. From mid-june onwards, however, the exchange rate fluctuated within a range of 1,010~1,050 won per dollar. Until early March, the Korean won firmed against the US dollar ,reaching the 1,000 won per dollar level as the US dollar's underlying weak tone persisted in global markets .Helped by the US dollar's shift to a strengthening trend based on expectation of the Federal Reserve's continued upward  adjustment of interest rates and by the lessening of the preponderance of foreign exchange supply in the interplay of supply and demand in the domestic foreign exchange market, the Korean won traded for a time  at around 1,020won per dollar in mid-April. As a climate of opinion became widespread that a revaluation of  the chinese yuan was at hand, however, the Korean won strengthened to 997.10 won to the dollars on A! pril 29.From mid-June, however, the force pulling  the exchange rate upward and downward were fairly evenly mixed the US dollar showed a stronger tone in international financial markets, non-residents engaged un large-scale purchases of NDF's ,and the Chinese yuan was revalued on July 21, sparking expectations of  its further appreciation. According  the exchange rate fluctuated within a range of 1,010~1,050 won per dollar, standing at 1,038.51 won per dollar as of the end of August.