'5 Months Consecutive' Trade Deficit... Semiconductor Exports Contract for the First Time in 26 Months (Update)

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Dongwoo Lee] The export value of semiconductors, South Korea's largest export item, turned to negative growth for the first time in 26 months. The trade balance in August also recorded a deficit of $9.47 billion, continuing a deficit for five consecutive months for the first time in 14 years.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on the 1st that last month's export value reached $56.67 billion, an increase of 6.6% compared to the same period last year. The export scale achieved the highest amount ever recorded for August. Major export items such as petroleum products, automobiles, steel, and secondary batteries recorded their highest monthly export values.

On the other hand, semiconductor exports decreased by 7.8% year-on-year to $10.78 billion, while imports increased by 26.1% to $6.7 billion. This is the first time in 26 months since June 2020 (-0.03%) that semiconductor export value has shown negative growth.

During the same period, imports amounted to $66.15 billion, an increase of 28.2% compared to the previous year. Energy imports, including crude oil and gas, increased by $8.86 billion year-on-year to $18.52 billion.

Imports of precision chemical raw materials, including semiconductor-related materials such as lithium hydroxide, nickel, and cobalt, increased by 82.8%, marking the highest import value ever recorded.

The cumulative trade deficit this year has surpassed $24.7 billion as of this month. It exceeded the annual trade deficit record of $20.6 billion set in 1996 in just eight months.

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