According to Yonhap News,

(SEOUL=Yonhap News) Korea’s exports of parts & materials are in good shape.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy (MOITE) announced on July 7 that Korea’s export volume of parts & materials was a record USD 133.9 billion in the first half of the year, a 3.1 percent increase year-on-year.

The industry’s import volume rose by 1.6 percent to USD 83.1 billion, making for a trade surplus of USD 50.8 billion in the first half of the year and one that exceeds the USD 50 billion mark for the first time.

Parts & materials imports from Japan decreased by 12.8 percent to USD 15 billion, recording the lowest import dependence on Japan of 18 percent. The trade deficit of parts & materials with Japan was USD 7.9 billion, or USD 2.5 billion less than it was in the first half of last year.

Parts & materials exports to China rose 2.3 percent to USD 45.1 billion, producing a surplus of USD 21.4 billion.

Korea saw dramatic increases in the export of electronic parts (6.2 percent) and transport machinery parts (7.2 percent) following the economic recovery of advanced countries including the United States and Europe. However, it saw a decrease in the exports of precision machinery parts (-6.6 percent) and electrical machinery parts (-5.2 percent) due to oversupply and a strong won.

MOTIE expects the trade of parts & materials to post a surplus of USD 100 billion this year based on the economic recovery of advanced countries despite uncertainties including the United States’ reduction of quantitative easing, concerns about China’s economic slowdown and the drop in the won-dollar exchange rate.

kms1234@yna.co.kr

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Source Text

Source: Yonhap News (July. 07, 2014)

** This article was translated from the Korean.