25-year High

Statistics Korea announced on March 5 that the inventory ratio of the semiconductor sector amounted to 265.7 percent in January this year, the highest since March 1997.

That month, the shipment index in that sector dropped 25.8 percent to 71.7 whereas the inventory index jumped 28 percent to 190.5.

The figures show that the sector is in a slump to affect exports from many other sectors. According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, South Korea’s non-semiconductor exports totaled US$44.1 billion last month, up 0.8 percent from a year ago, and its total exports were US$50.1 billion that month, down 7.5 percent year on year. In February, its semiconductor exports dropped 42.5 percent year on year to fall for the seventh consecutive month and its total exports decreased for the fifth consecutive month.

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