Trade Deficit of $4.1 Billion from September 1-20... Concerns Persist for 6 Consecutive Months

Exports from the 1st to 20th of this month total $33 billion... Down 8.7% YoY
Imports at $37.1 billion, up 6.1%... Trade deficit of $4.1 billion

Trade Deficit of 2.4 Billion Dollars from September 1 to 10
(Busan=Yonhap News) Reporter Son Hyung-joo = On the afternoon of the 13th, containers are stacked at Sinsundae Pier in Busan Port. Amid a decrease in operating days, both exports and imports declined, continuing the trade deficit streak. According to the Korea Customs Service, the export amount (provisional customs clearance basis) from the 1st to the 10th of this month was 16.246 billion dollars, down 16.6% compared to the same period last year. During this period, the number of operating days was 6.5, two days fewer than the same period last year (8.5 days) due to the Chuseok holiday. The average daily export amount increased by 9.0% compared to one year ago. 2022.9.13
handbrother@yna.co.kr
(End)


＜Copyright(c) Yonhap News Agency, unauthorized reproduction and redistribution prohibited＞

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Lee Junhyung] The trade balance is likely to continue its deficit streak for six consecutive months for the first time in 25 years since 1997. This is because the trade balance from the 1st to the 20th of this month has already recorded a deficit of $4.1 billion. There are also expectations that the cumulative trade deficit this year could surpass $30 billion for the first time in history.

According to the Korea Customs Service on the 21st, the trade balance from the 1st to the 20th of this month was a deficit of $4.105 billion. Exports were $33 billion, down 8.7% compared to the same period last year, while imports increased by 6.1% to $37.1 billion. The trade balance has recorded a deficit for five consecutive months from April to last month. If the trade deficit continues through this month, it will be the first six-month consecutive deficit in about 25 years since May 1997.

The cumulative trade deficit this year is $29.213 billion. This is the largest amount in 66 years since trade statistics began in 1956. The previous record was $20.6 billion, recorded just before the foreign exchange crisis in 1996. At this rate, the cumulative trade deficit could exceed $30 billion within this month. This strengthens the prospect that the annual trade deficit could surpass $30 billion.

The main culprit of the trade deficit is energy prices. As international energy prices soared due to geopolitical conflicts such as the Ukraine crisis, Korea's energy imports also surged accordingly. This is why the import value of the three major energy sources?crude oil (16.1%), gas (106.9%), and coal (12.8%)?has steadily increased every month. Also, from the 1st to the 20th of this month, energy imports amounted to $10.53 billion, accounting for about 30% of total imports.

Concerns about a 'twin deficit,' where both the fiscal balance and current account balance run deficits, are also growing. Professor Sung Taeyoon of Yonsei University's Department of Economics said, “If the government does not take special measures, the prolonged trade deficit is inevitable,” adding, “Although the government is making efforts to restore fiscal soundness, concerns about the twin deficit are real.”

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