May 1-20 Exports Down 16.1%... Cumulative Trade Deficit $29.5 Billion (Update)

Exports from the beginning of this month until the 20th decreased by 16.1% compared to the same period last year. As the slump in semiconductor and exports to China continues, the possibility of South Korea's trade deficit persisting for 15 consecutive months has increased.

According to the Korea Customs Service on the 22nd, the export value (provisional customs clearance basis) from May 1 to 20 was $32.443 billion, down 16.1% year-on-year, while imports were $36.747 billion, down 15.3% respectively.

During this period, the number of working days was 14.5, 0.5 days fewer than the same period last year (15 days). Considering the number of working days, the average daily export value was $2.24 billion, down 13.2%.

Exports have been declining for eight consecutive months from October last year to the 10th of this month. With exports decreasing and imports increasing, the trade deficit during this period recorded $4.304 billion.

The cumulative annual export value this year is $233.376 billion, and imports are $262.923 billion, down 13.5% and 6.6% respectively compared to the same period last year. Accordingly, the annual trade balance this year recorded a deficit of $29.548 billion, approaching $30 billion. The total annual trade deficit amounts to 62.6% of last year's record-high deficit (-$47.23 billion).

By item, the export value of semiconductors, South Korea's largest export item, was $4.26 billion until the 20th of this month, down 35.5% year-on-year, marking a decline for 10 consecutive months. Exports of petroleum products (-33%) and precision instruments (-20.9%) also decreased by double digits. However, passenger cars increased by 54.7%. By region, Taiwan (-53.9%) saw a sharp decline, as did China (-23.4%), Singapore (-29.9%), and India (-18.5%).

During the same period, imports of machinery (17.4%) and passenger cars (1.4%) increased, while coal (-41.1%), crude oil (-21.2%), and petroleum products (-21.9%) decreased. By region, imports from Malaysia (34.5%) and the European Union (5.4%) increased, while those from Australia (-33.4%), Saudi Arabia (-34.8%), Russia (-28.7%), and the United States (-17.7%) decreased.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

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