South Korea Balance of Trade

South Korea recorded a trade surplus of 2446.98 USD Million in April of 2013. Balance of Trade in South Korea is reported by the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy. Historically, from 1966 until 2013, South Korea Balance of Trade averaged 432.04 USD Million reaching an all time high of 6794.27 USD Million in June of 2010 and a record low of -4043.46 USD Million in January of 2008. Since 2009 South Korea has been recording trade surpluses due to exports growth. Major exports are high-tech manufactured products like semiconductors, machinery, automobiles, ships, LCD and wireless communication devices. South Korea imports mainly oil, semiconductors and natural gas. Main trading partners are: China (25 percent of total exports and 16 percent of total imports), United States (10 percent of exports and 8 percent of imports) and European Union (9 percent of both exports and imports). Others include: Japan and ASEAN. This page includes a chart with historical data for South Korea Balance of Trade.

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South Korea Balance of Trade
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South Korea Trade Surplus Narrows in April
Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy | Joana Taborda | joana.taborda@tradingeconomics.com  |  5/2/2013 9:42:45 AM


In April of 2013, South Korea recorded a trade surplus of 2.6 billion USD, down from 3.3 billion USD recorded in March, as exports dropped by 2.4 percent over the previous month. Year-on- year, exports rose for the second month in a row.

Despite unfavorable external factors including a weaker Japanese yen, a modest recovery in the world economy pushed the nation’s exports up for the second consecutive month. As a result, the nation posted a $2.58 billion trade surplus, remaining in the black for the 15th month in a row.

Exports gained 0.4 percent year on year to $46.29 billion. Thanks to strong demand for Long Term Evolution (LTE)-capable smartphones and a low base effect from the previous year, exports of wireless communications devices saw double-digit growth. Petrochemicals also saw double-digit growth owing to greater production capacity and a low base effect. 

Robust sales of smart devices such as tablet PCs boosted outbound shipments of semiconductors.
Exports of ships and steel, on the other hand, continued on a downward trend. Although exports to the ASEAN region, China and the European Union posted positive growth, Japan, the Middle East and Latin America saw declines.
 
Meanwhile imports declined 0.5 percent from a year earlier to $43.72 billion. Although inbound shipments of petroleum products and gas saw gains, imports of raw materials on the whole shrank 10.1 percent due to weaker demand for crude oil and coal. While inbound shipments of capital goods posted a slight decline, imports of consumer goods showed positive growth. Imports from the United States and the ASEAN region fell.
 
On a month-over-month basis, exports dropped by 2.4 percent and imports declined by 0.97 percent. 

ARCHIVE
South Korea Trade Surplus Widens in March South Korea posted a $3.36 billion trade surplus in March of 2013. While exports posted a slight gain on the back of strong demand from emerging economies and robust sales of IT products, imports declined mainly due to a sharp fall in consumer goods. The country's trade balance has been in surplus since February of 2012. 2013-04-02
South Korea Trade Surplus Narrows in December South Korea recorded a $2.0 billion surplus in December, with exports declining 5.5 percent to $45.1 billion and imports falling 5.3 percent to $43.1 billion. 2013-01-21
South Korea Trade Surplus Widens in February South Korea posted a $2.06 billion trade surplus for the 13th straight month in February. Exports were down 8.6 percent to $42.32 billion year-on-year due to the Lunar New Year holiday and imports fell by a wider margin of 10.7 percent to $40.26 billion. 2013-03-07
South Korea Trade Surplus Widens in November South Korea's trade surplus totaled $4.5 billion, up from $3.7 billion in October. Despite unfavorable economic conditions, both exports and imports continued their upward trend. 2012-12-14
South Korea Trade Surplus Narrows in January South Korea recorded a $870 million trade surplus in January, which represents a month-over-month decrease of 5.2 percent but a an increase of 3.6 percent from the same month of the previous year. 2013-02-08



Balance of Trade | Notes

The balance of trade is the difference between the monetary value of exports and imports in an economy over a certain period of time. A positive balance of trade is known as a trade surplus and occurs when value of exports is higher than that of imports; a negative balance of trade is known as a trade deficit or a trade gap.






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