October 1-20 Exports Down 5.5%... Trade Deficit Hits $5 Billion (Update)

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Dongwoo Lee] Exports have decreased by 5% compared to the previous year as of October 20. The cumulative trade deficit is approaching $34 billion, setting a new record high.

According to the Korea Customs Service on the 21st, the export value from the 1st to the 20th of this month (provisional customs clearance basis) was $32.41 billion, down 5.5% compared to the same period last year. This is a smaller decline than the 20.2% decrease recorded as of October 10 compared to the same period last year.

During this period, the number of working days was 13.5, which is 0.5 days more than the 13 days in the same period last year. However, the average daily export value decreased by 9.0%, indicating a larger decline.

Imports during the same period amounted to $37.355 billion, an increase of 1.9% compared to the same period last year. The average daily import value decreased by 1.9%.

The trade balance from October 1 to 20 recorded a deficit of $4.954 billion. This is a 108.6% increase compared to the trade deficit of $2.374 billion during the same period last year.

The cumulative trade deficit for this year stands at $33.843 billion, setting a new record high on an annual basis. Previously, as of October 10, the cumulative trade deficit surpassed $30 billion for the first time since trade statistics began in 1956.

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