According to Yonhap News,

(SEOUL=Yonhap News) Korea posted a trade surplus for the 28th straight month in May, thanks to increased exports of ships and petroleum products.

Longer holidays led to reduced days of operation, which decreased monthly export volumes. However, the average daily export volume was the 2nd highest on record.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy (MOTIE) announced June 1 that exports in May posted KRW 47.882 billion, down 0.9 percent from the same month last year. Imports in May posted KRW 42.533 billion, up 0.3 percent.

Accordingly, the trade balance posted a surplus of KRW 5.349 billion. Since February of 2012, the trade balance has been posting a surplus for 28 months straight.

Last month’s average daily exports reached KRW 2.23 billion, the 2nd highest on record, following that of last September (KRW 2.233 billion.)

Offshore plants & ships, petroleum products and steel exports increased by 30.0 percent, 11.9 percent and 9.6 percent, respectively, contributing to improved performance overall. Mobile telecommunications devices, semiconductors and motor vehicle exports decreased by 10.0 percent, 1.1 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively.

Looking at exports by region, exports to the United States and EU increased by 4.5 percent and 32.0 percent, respectively. The increase can be attributed to higher sales of automobiles and petroleum products in the United States and information technology parts in the EU.

Exports to China in May decreased by 9.4 percent year-on-year. So did exports to ASEAN and Japan, by 2.0 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively.

Meanwhile, commodity and capital goods imports dropped by 6.3 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively, while consumer goods imports rose by 11.3 percent. Of the top five import items, petroleum products and steel rose by 15.8 percent and 1.9 percent, while coal, crude oil and gas imports dropped by 1.8 percent, 3.2 percent and 15.2 percent, respectively.

Among capital goods, industrial machinery and auto part imports increased. Among consumer goods, motor vehicle imports are on the rise, according to MOTIE.

Overall, exports continue to rise, backed by the fact that average daily imports during the January to May period of this year posted USD 2.11 billion, up 4.4 percent from last year. But measures need to be taken to deal with slowing exports to China, and changes in the Chinese import market must be closely analyzed, said the Ministry.

prayerahn@yna.co.kr

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Source Text

Source: Yonhap News (June. 01, 2014)

** This article was translated from the Korean.