Korea trade deficit deepens in April, slowest export growth in 14 months
Korea's exports grew at their slowest pace in 14 months in April, with the trade deficit in goods deepening as a continued rise in energy and raw materials prices pushed up the cost of the country's imports.
Exports in April grew 12.6 percent from a year earlier to $57.69 billion, trade ministry data showed Sunday, logging the slowest increase since February 2021 and missing a forecast of 14.5 percent growth in a Reuters' poll of analysts.
The rate was also slower than the 18.2 percent rise in March.
A breakdown by items showed exports of semiconductors, the country's top foreign exchange earner, jumped 15.8 percent, while petrochemical products rose 6.8 percent. Outbound shipments of oil and steel products jumped 68.8 percent and 21.1 percent, respectively.
By destination, exports to China, Korea's biggest trading partner, decreased 3.4 percent, while those to the United States and the European Union increased 26.4 percent and 7.4 percent, respectively.
The prices of imports, meanwhile, jumped 18.6 percent to $60.35 billion, with a combined $14.81 billion worth of crude oil, gas and coal taking the lead. That brought the trade balance to a $2.66 billion deficit, after logging a $115 million deficit in March. Read More…
