July Trade Balance Records Surplus of $2.54 Bil.

SEOUL, KOREA- Korea's trade balance for the month of July continued an 18-month run in surpluses. According to the Korea Customs Service on August 15, the July export volume was US$45,839 million, down 1.9 percent from the previous month but up 2.6 percent from a year ago. Imports for the same month were $43,299 million, up 6.3 percent month on month and up 3.2 percent year on year. As a result, the balance of trade was a surplus of $2.54 billion, maintaining the surplus for 18 consecutive months.

By export item, mobile communications devices (up 23.2% from a year ago), semiconductors (21.5%), ships (21.1%), and chemicals (8.7%) led the pack. Items such as steel products (-11.4%), machinery and precision machines (-3.4%), and automobiles (-1.6%) saw their export volume shrink in the month.

By export destination, China (14.5%), the United States (9.8%), and the EU (6.6%) gained while the Middle East (-25.5%), Australia (-21.6%), and Japan (-14.9%) lost grounds. As for import items, feedstock, home electronics, apparel, and automobiles saw an increase of 10.7 percent from the same month last year.

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