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Korea suffers steepest fall in exports

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By Kim Bo-eun

Korea saw the steepest decline in export volume from January to April from the same period a year earlier among the top 10 exporters, data showed Sunday.

According to data from the World Trade Organization, Korea's export volume fell by 6.9 percent year-on-year, from $194.9 billion in 2018 to $181.48 billion in 2019.

Japan's recent trade restrictions are set to further weigh in on Korea's exports.

Among the top 10 exporters, eight including Korea saw their trade volume fall in the first four months of this year, compared to the same period a year earlier.

Only the top two exporters, China and the U.S., saw their exports increase by 0.2 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively.

The countries seeing the steepest fall in exports following Korea were Germany at 6.4 percent, Japan at 5.6 percent, Italy at 5.2 percent, Hong Kong at 3.9 percent and the U.K. at 2.4 percent.

Adding trade volume from January through May, Korea saw a 7.4 percent decrease from the same period a year earlier.

"Recent data showed shrinking export volumes, painting an increasingly gloomy outlook for the trade-reliant South Korean economy," Bernard Aw, principal economist for economic indices at IHS Markit, said in a report published July 18.

"Deteriorating trade conditions, which were brought about by a combination of a softening tech cycle and rising U.S.-China trade tensions, adversely impacted South Korean export performance," he said, stating the latest IHS Markit surveys pointed to a further contraction in new export orders in June.

"Adding to growing concerns over the deepening export malaise in South Korea were tighter curbs on Japan's exports of chemical materials used in smartphone displays and chips to South Korea, which is expected to disrupt the production of Korean technology goods," he said, noting Japan's intentions to expand the export restrictions to include a broader range of items.



Kim Bo-eun bkim@koreatimes.co.kr


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