SEOUL: South Korea’s exports went down 5.2% from a year earlier in the first 20 days of April due in part to sluggish shipments to the United States amid ongoing tariff measures, data shows.
Outbound shipments reached US$33.87bil in the April 1 to April 20 period, compared with US$35.75bil tallied over the same period last year, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service.
Imports decreased 11.8% year-on-year to US$34bil during the period, resulting in a trade deficit of US$1bil.
By destination, exports to the United State shrank 14.3% year-on-year to US$6.18bil, while shipments to China, the top trading partner of South Korea, climbed 7.6% to US$7.64bil.
“There is a tendency for exports to increase towards the end of the month, so it remains to be seen whether this downward trend will continue on a monthly basis,” an agency official said on condition of anonymity.
By item, exports of semiconductors increased 10.7% from a year earlier to US$6.47bil.
Chip sales accounted for 19.1% of the country’s total exports over the cited period, up 2.8 percentage points from the same period last year.
In contrast, shipments of automobiles went down 6.5% year-on-year to US$3.67bil and those of petroleum products dropped 22% to US$2.2bil.
In March, exports gained 3.1% from a year earlier to US$58.3bil, marking a second consecutive month of increase. — The Korea Herald/ANN
