Changing Economics
According to the Bank of Korea, the ratio of U.S. dollar-based import payments decreased 0.2 percentage points from the previous quarter to 83 percent, an 11 quarter low, in the first quarter of this year. “The declines in crude oil imports and crude oil prices have lowered the percentage,” the central bank explained.
Meanwhile, euro-based and yen-based payments went up from 5.8 percent to 6 percent and from 5 percent to 5.6 percent during the same period, respectively. “Yen-based payments increased in those firms importing semiconductor materials and components from Japan,” the bank added.
On the export side, yen-based payments decreased from 3.0 percent to 2.7 percent between the fourth quarter of 2014 and the first of this year to reach the lowest level since 1992. The ratio remained between 6 percent and 7 percent in the 1990s and over 5 percent in the 2000s, but dropped to 4.4 percent in 2011, 4.3 percent in 2012, 3.5 percent in 2013, and 3.1 percent in 2014.
The ratio of euro-based export payments also fell from 5.3 percent to 4.8 percent between Q4 2014 and Q1 2015, while that of U.S. dollar-based export payments increased 0.2 percentage points to 86.5 percent.
“During the period, exports to the United States were going well, but those to Europe and Japan remained sluggish, and this caused the ratios to change this way,” a Bank of Korea representative said. According to the Korea International Trade Association, the amount of export to the United States increased 13.4 percent from a year ago in the first quarter of 2015, whereas that to Japan showed a 22.0 percent decrease.