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South Korea accomplished a surplus in trade balance for two consecutive months, posting a $2.3 billion trade surplus in March.
The nation’s exports and imports declined 1.4 percent and 1.2 percent, from the previous year to $47.3 billion and $45
billion, respectively. Its trade balance reached a $2.3 billion surplus in March.
Korea’s trade balance had swung into the red in January this year for the first time in 24 months by marking a $2 billion deficit. However, it turned to a $2.2 billion surplus in February, and the continued trade surplus in March led the country to record $1.6 billion in cumulative trade surplus in the first quarter(Q1) this year.
In terms of outbound shipment volume, automobiles showed strong sales. However, Korea’s export volume slightly fell in general last month as the IT sector, including semiconductors, maintained the previous year’s level and Korea’s major export items including ships and mobile communications devices showed weak performances.
Exports gained in automobiles (35.1 percent), petroleum products (7.6 percent), car components (4.7 percent), and general machineries (3.3 percent). However, exports were sluggish in mobile devices (-32 percent), ships( -27.6 percent), LCD (liquid-crystal display) panels (-7.5 percent), petrochemicals (-5.8 percent), and semiconductors (-2.6 percent).
By region, Korea’s shipments to the USA gained 27.1 percent on-year thanks to effectuation of the Korea-U.S. (KORUS) free trade agreement(FTA). Exports to the Middle East (28.1 percent) and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS, 17 percent) also surged by a large margin and outbound shipments to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Japan soared 11.5 percent and 4.4 percent, respectively, in March.
However, exports to the EU fell a whopping 20.3 percent on-year owing to the Eurozone debt crisis, and Korea’s shipments to China, Korea’s largest trade partner, declined 0.7 percent.
Meanwhile, despite an upsurge in energy imports, overall imports slightly contracted from the previous year in March as imports of steel products, non-ferrous metals, and capital goods grew at a slower pace.
Imports of raw materials dropped 0.1 percent from the previous year due to decreased imports in crude oil, gas, steel products, and non-ferrous metals.
S. Korea’s imports of capital goods fell 4.2 percent while consumer goods imports climbed 1.9 percent.
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