South Korea's Trade Plunges in May
JUNE 1, 2009
SEOUL -- South Korean trade declined at a faster-than-expected rate in May,
with exports falling 28.3% and imports down 40.4%, government data showed on
Monday.
The country recorded a trade surplus of $5.15 billion, its second-highest after
a record $5.79 billion in April.
South Korea's trade data is the first economic measure for a given month to be
released in Asia, providing an early glimpse of performance trends. The latest
data showed steeper rates of decline in both imports and exports, indicating
that the country and the region are still heavily under the influence of the
broader global economic downturn.
In April, South Korea's exports fell 19% and imports fell 35.6%.
The surplus has helped boost the value of South Korea's won against major
currencies in the past three months. But the overall rate of decline in trade
is damaging to the country's broader economy. Exports are by far the biggest
engine of South Korea's economy, accounting for nearly half of gross domestic
product.
For May, the median forecast of 11 economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires
was for exports to decline 26.4% and imports to decline 19.6%.
In absolute amounts, exports amounted to $28.22 billion, compared to $39.38
billion a year ago. Imports amounted to $23.07 billion, versus $38.70 billion a
year ago.
South Korean export growth turned negative in November, a month or two later
than other Asian trade powers such as Japan, Singapore and Taiwan. In January,
South Korea's exports fell 33% compared to a year earlier. Economists said at
the time that several industries, including automobiles and electronics, were
sharply cutting inventories in anticipation of lower demand
