August Trade Balance Hits Surplus for 19 Consecutive Months

SEOUL, KOREA- Korea's trade balance for the month of August continued a 19-month run in surpluses. According to the Korea Customs Service on September 15, the August export volume was US$46,378 million, up 1.2 percent from the previous month and up 7.7 percent from the same month a year ago. Imports for the same month were $41,525 million, down 4.1 percent month on month but up 1.0 percent year on year. As a result, the balance of trade was a surplus of $4.85 billion, maintaining the surplus for 19 consecutive months since February last year.

By export item, automobiles (up 47.8% from a year ago), ships (23.8%), semiconductors (21.7%), and mobile communications devices (15.7%) led the pack. Items such as petrochemical products (-6.4%) and steel products (-3.7%) saw their export volume shrink in the month.

By export destination, Australia (22.9%), the United States (17.9%), China (12.8%), and Southeast Asia (6.6%) gained while Japan (-13.3%), the EU (-8.9%), and the Middle East (-5.0%) lost grounds. As for import items, capital goods such as machinery, semiconductors, manufacturing equipment, and auto parts saw an increase of 9.8 percent from the same month last year.

Korea IT Times (info@koreaittimes.com) 다른기사 보기