South Korea Dec exports fall 9.5%, but rise 6.1% in 2022

SEOUL : South Korea's exports in December fell 9.5 per cent from a year earlier, slightly less than expected in the third consecutive monthly decline, as the global economy cooled and demand from China remained weak, trade ministry data showed on Sunday.

Exports fell to $54.99 billion from $60.73 billion in December 2021, while imports dropped 2.4 per cent to $59.68 billion. This resulted in a trade deficit of $4.69 billion.

South Korea is the first major exporting economy to release trade data each month, providing an early glimpse into the latest state of global demand.

Analysts in a Reuters poll expected exports in December 2022 to fall by a median 10.1 per cent over a year earlier and imports to fall 0.6 per cent. In November, South Korea's exports fell by a revised 14.0 per cent while imports increased by 2.7 per cent.

Exports for full-year 2022 rose 6.1 per cent to $683.9 billion despite the three-month drop, but imports grew 18.9 per cent to $731.2 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $47.2 billion. It was the country's biggest shortfall on record.