April 20, 2024
Economy
Korea posts trade surplus in Oct.
[THE INVESTOR] Korea posted a trade surplus for the 69th straight month in October on the back of rising global demand for locally made goods, customs data showed on Nov. 15.
The country posted US$7.14 billion in trade surplus in October, contracting from a surplus of US$13.4 billion tallied a month earlier, according to the data by the Korea Customs Service.
It logged US$6 billion in trade surplus with Southeast Asian countries last month, including a surplus with Vietnam worth US$2.3 billion, while it posted an excess of US$4.66 billion in trade with China, its largest trading partner.
Trade with the United States recorded a surplus of US$1.29 billion, down from US$1.86 billion recorded a year ago, amid the Seoul government’s efforts to reduce the goods trade imbalance with the world’s largest economy.
The country’s exports have been on an upside cycle since November last year on the back of growing overseas demand for Korean-made semiconductors, petrochemical products and vehicles.
In October, exports rose 7.1 percent on-year to US$45 billion, while imports also added 7.9 percent on-year to US$37.8 billion.
By Alex Lee and newswires (alexlee@heraldcorp.com)
