Exports down 16.5% until the 20th of this month... "11 consecutive months of decline"

Exports have decreased by more than 16% from the beginning of this month to the 20th. The downward trend in exports, which began in October last year, is likely to continue for the 11th consecutive month.

On the 21st, the Korea Customs Service announced the 'Export and Import Status from August 1 to 20,' which included this information. Export value was $27.9 billion, down 16.5% (-$5.5 billion) compared to the same period last year. The decline rate increased by 1.3 percentage points compared to the same period last month (-15.2%).

The number of working days until the 20th of this month was 14.5 days, one day less than the 15.5 days during the same period last year. Considering this, the average daily export value was $1.92 billion, a 10.7% decrease compared to the same period last year.

Among the top 10 major items, all decreased except for passenger cars (20.2%), wireless communication devices (6.1%), and ships (54.9%). The decline was steep in semiconductors (-24.7%), petroleum products (-41.7%), and steel products (-20.5%).

By major countries, exports shrank to nine countries except Hong Kong (36.1%). Exports to China (-27.5%), the United States (-7.2%), and the European Union (EU, -7.1%) remained sluggish.

Imports declined more sharply than exports. Import value until the 20th of this month was $31.4 billion, down 27.9% compared to the same period last year.

All top 10 major import items, including crude oil (-37.4%), semiconductors (-25.1%), and passenger cars (-46.3%), decreased. Imports from the top 10 major countries also declined, including China (-22.1%), the United States (-35.8%), the EU (-20.7%), and Japan (-23.7%).

The trade balance from August 1 to 20 recorded a deficit of $3.566 billion, bringing the cumulative deficit this year to $28.404 billion. The deficit for this month increased by $2.216 billion compared to the same period last month (July 1?20), which recorded a $1.35 billion deficit.

(Photo) [Image source=Yonhap News]

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