First Export Daily Average of $2.13 Billion in New Year... January Records All-Time High (Comprehensive)

Total exports $48.01 billion... up 11.4% YoY
Imports $44.05 billion up 3.1%

‘Semiconductors, wireless communication devices, displays, home appliances, computers, secondary batteries’ show double-digit growth for 5 consecutive months
Petrochemicals and steel also rebound positively

Export Growth Rate Trend (%).

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Ju Sang-don] Total exports and average daily exports both increased in January, showing a favorable trend. Total exports continued the growth trend for the third consecutive month since November last year, and average daily exports surpassed $2.1 billion for the first time, setting a record high for January.

According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on the 1st, January exports amounted to $48.01 billion, up 11.4% compared to the same period last year. This marks the third consecutive month of increase following November (4.1%) and December (12.6%) of last year.

Total exports showed double-digit growth for two consecutive months. This is the first time in 40 months since August-September 2017.

In January this year, the number of working days was 22.5 days, one day more than last year (21.5 days). Considering this, average daily exports recorded $2.13 billion, surpassing $2.1 billion for the first time. This is the highest ever for January. It is the first time since January-March 2018 that both total exports and average daily exports have increased together for three consecutive months.

An official from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy explained, "Export unit prices have increased for six consecutive months, showing the highest growth rate in 3 years and 9 months at 29.9% in January," adding, "The high value-added nature of export items has recently driven the upward trend in our exports."

In January, among the 15 major export items, 12 including semiconductors, automobiles, steel, displays, and bio sectors increased, marking the largest number of items with positive growth since October 2018. In particular, all six IT-related items?semiconductors, wireless communication devices, displays, home appliances, computers, and secondary batteries?showed growth for three consecutive months.

Semiconductor exports increased by 21.7%, marking five consecutive months of double-digit growth. Wireless communication devices (58.0%) and displays (32.2%) showed their highest growth rates in about 16 years and 10 years respectively. Automobiles (40.2%) recorded the highest growth rate since September 2017, and biohealth (66.5%) marked 17 consecutive months of growth. Petrochemicals (8.6%) rebounded positively after 26 months, and steel (6.0%) after 4 months. On the other hand, general machinery and textiles, which had increased in December last year, recorded -4.8% and -7.9% respectively in January, and petroleum products (-46.0%) continued to slump due to low oil prices.

By country, the three major markets?China (22.0%), the United States (46.1%), and the European Union (EU, 23.9%)?all increased by more than 20%. In particular, exports to the United States in January reached $8.39 billion, the highest monthly export record ever.

January imports amounted to $44.05 billion, up 3.1%. Accordingly, the trade balance recorded a surplus of $3.96 billion for the ninth consecutive month.

Seong Yoon-mo, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, said, "This year, we will make every effort to rebound exports first," adding, "We will operate a permanent public-private joint export support system to devise all measures to support export companies such as trade finance and marketing, and timely operate risk management systems for exchange rates and logistics."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.