South Korea’s December exports up for third month but at slower pace

SOUTH Korea’s exports rose for a third month in December but at a slower pace as weaker demand for Korean goods in China offset robust global sales for semiconductors, data showed on Monday.

Exports by Asia’s fourth largest economy gained 5.1 per cent to US$57.66 billion in December, slowing from a rise of 7.7 per cent in November and also below 6.6 per cent gain seen in a Reuters poll of economists.

Export data out of Asia’s fourth largest economy is a closely watched indicator to gauge momentum for global trade.

Policymakers are pinning hope on recovering exports for an estimated 2.1 per cent of economic expansion in 2024 as high borrowing costs and sticky inflation keep consumer spending sluggish.

Chip exports turned a corner in November, rising for the first time in 16 months as the slump in semiconductor demand began to ease.

In December, chip exports surged 21.8 per cent year-on-year after a jump of 12.9 per cent a month earlier.

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Exports to China declined 2.9 per cent on year.

Imports declined 10.8 per cent in December on-year, better than a 11.4 per cent of drop seen in the poll and easing after a 11.6 per cent of drop in November.

That took the preliminary trade surplus for December to US$4.48 billion.

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For the whole 2023, exports declined 7.4 per cent as restrictive monetary policies in many countries and a slowing Chinese economy weakened demand for Korean goods, trade ministry said. REUTERS