South Korea’s exports fell for seven months due to soft global demand and low export price, caused by cheaper oil and oversupply, a government report showed Saturday. Exports, which account for about half of the economy, declined 3.3 percent from a year earlier to 46.61 billion U.S. dollars in July, posting the downward trend for seven straight months, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The outbound shipments reduced at a faster pace from 0.9 percent in January to 8.0 percent in April. The sliding pace peaked at 10.9 percent in May before decelerating to 1.8 percent in June. In terms of volume, the July exports increased 7.8 percent on a yearly basis after gaining 10.8 percent in June, but lower export prices and oversupply led to a decline in exports value, the ministry said. Imports tumbled 15.3 percent from a year earlier to 38.83 billion dollars in July, maintaining the falling trend for 10 months in a row. Trade surplus was 7.76 billion dollars in July as imports dipped at a faster pace than exports, staying in the black for 42 months since February 2012. In terms of value, exports of oil products and petrochemicals plunged 28.1 percent and 17.2 percent each due to low crude oil prices that lead to a decline in oil-related export prices. Shipments of automobiles and telecommunication devices, including smartphones, slumped 6.2 percent and 16.0 percent each, with those for computers, consumer electronics and general machinery retreating 6.5 percent, 17.5 percent and 6.3 percent respectively. Ship exports surged 57.4 percent in July from a year earlier, with those for steels and semiconductors rising 16.4 percent and 6. 6 percent each. Cosmetics exports jumped 39.1 percent, and OLED shipments more than tripled last month. Exports to China and the United States, South Korea’s top two trading partners, rose 6.4 percent and 1.8 percent respectively in July, with those to Japan and the European Union growing 28 percent and 5.6 percent each. Imports of raw materials dropped 28 percent in July on a yearly basis on low commodity costs. Consumer goods imports slid 2.2 percent, but capital goods imports gained 5.8 percent. The ministry said that profitability among exporters improved last month on the South Korean currency’s descent to the dollar and rising export volume, but it forecast that export value would continue to fall for the time being due to the weak global demand. Tech and auto exports were expected to show an upbeat picture next month thanks to the planned launch of new smartphone devices and auto models, the ministry added.
