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By Kang Yoon-seung
SEOUL, Sept. 21 (Yonhap) — South Korea’s exports increased by 9.8 percent year-on-year in the initial 20 days of September due to a higher number of working days, despite sluggish shipments of chips and petroleum products, data showed Thursday.
The country’s outbound shipments totaled $36 billion in the Sept. 1-20 period, compared with $32.7 billion recorded a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service.
Imports dropped 1.5 percent year-on-year to $36.4 billion during the period, resulting in a trade deficit of $500 million.
The number of working days was 15.5 in the period, higher than the 13 days tallied a year earlier.
By sector, exports of chips, the mainstay of Asia’s No. 4 economy, decreased 14.1 percent to $5.92 billion.
Outbound shipments of petroleum products also declined 11.4 percent over the period to $2.95 billion.
On the other hand, exports of automobiles surged 49.1 percent year-on-year to hit $3.26 billion, and those of steel products rose 25.3 percent to $2.63 billion.
By destination, exports to China, the top trading partner, dropped 9 percent to $7.5 billion. Those to the United States, however, increased 30.5 percent to $6.5 billion.
Exports to the European Union and Vietnam rose 32.7 percent and 14.3 percent, respectively.
As of Wednesday, South Korea’s exports for this year had reached $445.4 billion, down 10.9 percent year-on-year. The accumulated trade deficit reached $24.2 billion.
South Korea’s exports decreased for the 11th consecutive month in August due mainly to weak demand for semiconductors and petroleum products, but the country reported a trade surplus for the third straight month.
Exports have been on a steady decline since October last year amid aggressive monetary tightening by major economies to curb high inflation and an economic slowdown. It is the first time since 2020 that exports have decreased for 11 months in a row.
Shipping containers are stacked at a pier in South Korea's largest port city of Busan, 320 kilometers south of Seoul, on Sept. 1, 2023. (Yonhap)
colin@yna.co.kr
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