Exports Rising
The Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy announced on April 1 that Korea’s exports declined by 4.2 percent to US$47 billion and its imports decreased by 15.3 percent to US$38.6 billion in March this year compared to the same month of the previous year. The trade surplus added up to US$8.4 billion for the country to record a surplus for the 38th consecutive month. The year-on-year decrease in exports totaled 0.7 percent and 3.4 percent in the two preceding months, while the year-on-year decrease in imports amounted to 11 percent and 19.6 percent during the same period.
Last month, the petroleum product exports declined by 32.5 percent, electronics products by 17.2 percent, petrochemical products by 16.1 percent, and wireless communication equipment by 10 percent. By destination, the shipments to China and Europe fell 2.4 percent and 9.7 percent, respectively. In the meantime, a decline in the import prices of raw materials such as crude oil led to a reduction in imports. The amount of crude oil imported in March this year increased by 4.9 million barrels from a year earlier, but the price per barrel dropped from US$108.40 to US$57.10 during the period.
Korea showed an export growth rate of 2.3 percent in October last year, negative 2.7 percent in November 2014, 3.1 percent in December, and negative 0.9 percent in January this year. In the same four-month period, the global export growth rate reached 1.1 percent, 4.2 percent, 2.5 percent, and 10.4 percent. Korea beat France to climb to sixth in world export rankings.
Korea’s trade balance almost quadrupled in comparison to that recorded in the first half of 2014. Specifically, the amounts were US$21.461 billion vs. US$5.17 billion.