South Korea’s exports have faced their longest losing streak in three years, with a seventh straight month of decline in April, driven by a persistent slump in sales to China. This indicates that the frail global demand continues to apply pressure on the nation’s economy.
Although the Chinese economy reopened in December, a major market for South Korean goods, particularly chips, the downturn persists, creating a challenge for policymakers as they strive for a strong post-COVID recovery.
Trade ministry data revealed that overseas sales by Asia’s fourth-largest economy fell by 14.2% year-on-year to $49.62 billion in April. This marks the worst decline in three months and highlights the recent struggles of a domestic economy attempting to regain momentum amid slowing global growth.
A detailed analysis of the data shows that exports to China fell by 26.5% for their 11th consecutive month of declines, while exports to the United States decreased by 4.4%. Shipments to the European Union saw a 9.9% increase.
By product, semiconductor exports plunged by 41.0%, marking losses for the ninth straight month. Petroleum products experienced a 27.3% decline, but automobiles saw a 40.3% surge.
The trade ministry attributed the fall to a delay in global economic recovery, weakness in the semiconductor industry, fewer working days, and high base effects. Imports in April also declined by 13.3% to $52.23 billion, the largest drop since August 2020.
Consequently, South Korea reported a trade deficit of $2.62 billion in April, marking the 14th consecutive month of trade deficits for the export-reliant economy, although it was the smallest deficit since June.
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