South Korea posts first trade deficit in two years

SEOUL : South Korea posted its first trade deficit for two years in January as exports declined on falling overseas de

Published February 1, 2012 Updated February 1, 2012 03:50am

1 min

By Shoaib Ur Rehman

Add BRecorder as a trusted
source on Google

The Ministry of Knowledge Economy said exports last month fell 6.6 percent from a year earlier to $41.54 billion.

Imports rose 3.6 percent to $43.49 billion from January 2011, leaving a trade deficit of $1.96 billion compared to a surplus of $2.9 billion a year before.

January marked the first time in 27 months that exports had shrunk year-on-year. The ministry attributed the drop partly to the global economic downturn but also to seasonal factors.

"There is a tendency for worsening exports every January due to a cut in shipments following large year-end sales," it said.

It said the deficit rose further because of a significant rise in prices of imported oil.

Economists said the January data alone would not indicate a trend for the export-driven economy, because exporters often boost shipments in December to inflate their full-year results.

Read Comments