October 1-10 Exports Down 20.2%... Cumulative Trade Deficit Reaches $32.7 Billion (Update)

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Dongwoo Lee] The cumulative trade deficit this year has exceeded $30 billion as of the 10th of this month. This is the largest figure since trade statistics began in 1956.

According to the Korea Customs Service on the 11th, the export value (provisional customs clearance basis) from the 1st to the 10th of this month was $11.797 billion, down 20.2% compared to the same period last year.

The number of working days during this period was 5 days, 0.5 days fewer than the 5.5 days in the same period last year. The average daily export value also decreased by 12.2%.

Major export items such as passenger cars (up 5.4%) and ships (up 76.4%) increased, but semiconductors (down 20.6%), petroleum products (down 21.3%), and wireless communication devices (down 21.0%) decreased.

During the same period, imports amounted to $15.622 billion, down 11.3% from a year earlier. Crude oil (up 7.6%) and wireless communication devices (up 39.1%) increased, while gas (down 16.1%), petroleum products (down 14.3%), and machinery (down 9.5%) decreased.

The trade balance during this period recorded a deficit of $3.825 billion. The deficit size increased compared to the same period last year ($2.834 billion deficit).

Since the beginning of this year until the 10th of this month, the cumulative trade deficit reached $32.714 billion, surpassing $30 billion for the first time in history.

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