South Korea’s exports fell in August due to weak demand for chips

The South Korean Ministry of industry announced that the country’s exports declined for the eleventh month in a row last August, noting at the same time that the country recorded a trade surplus for the third month in a row.

The ministry said in a statement reported by the Korean news agency “Yonhap” that exports fell by 8.4 percent year-on-year to 51.87 billion dollars last month, and this decline came as exports of semiconductors, the country’s main export item, fell by 21 percent due to lower demand and weak chip prices.
Exports of petroleum products also fell by 35 percent year-on-year.
The ministry also pointed to the high fundamental impact, as exports reached an all-time high of 56.6 billion dollars for any month of August in 2022.
Imports fell by 22.8 percent year-on-year to 51 billion dollars in August, the ministry said, with energy imports falling by 42 percent year-on-year, and South Korea relies on imports to meet most of its energy needs.
Accordingly, the country recorded a trade surplus of 870 million dollars in August, recording a trade surplus for the third consecutive month.