S. Korea’s Exports Down 14.8% Beginning of July

Industry

South Korea's exports fell 14.8 percent on-year in the first 10 days of July due to sluggish shipments of chips, data showed Tuesday.

The country's outbound shipments reached $13.3 billion in the July 1-10 period, compared with $15.5 billion tallied a year earlier, South Korean News Agency (Yonhap) quoted data from the Korea Customs Service.

Imports fell 26.9 percent on-year to $15.5 billion during the period, resulting in a trade deficit of $2.27 billion.

By sector, exports of chips, the backbone of Asia's No. 4 economy, slid 36.8 percent over the period to $1.82 billion.

Exports of steel and petroleum products moved down 14.5 percent and 51.3 percent to $1 billion and $970 million, respectively, over the period.

Outbound shipments of ships jumped 74 percent to $660 million, and automobiles gained 25.2 percent to $1.44 billion, the data showed.

In June, South Korea's outbound shipments fell 6 percent on-year to $54.24 billion.

The country reported a trade surplus for the first time in 16 months in June.

As of Monday, South Korea's exports so far this year had reached $320.4 billion, down 12.5 percent from the same period in 2022. The trade deficit so far had come to $28.7 billion.

Source: Qatar News Agency