South Korea exports fall in September

South Korean exports slowed in September, contrary to market predictions, marking the mildest loss in a yearlong slump and a positive sign for the world economy from the bellwether industrial country.

Overseas sales by Asia’s fourth-largest economy declined 4.4% year on year to $54.66 billion in September, according to trade statistics released on Sunday, compared to an 8.3% drop in August and a 9.1% drop predicted in a Reuters poll of experts.

It was the 12th straight month of export declines, but it was the smallest in the trend.

The drop in China-bound shipments slowed to 17.6%, the smallest in 11 months, while exports to the United States increased by 8.5% and those to the European Union by 6.5%.

Semiconductor exports declined 13.6%, the weakest rate in a year. Car exports increased 9.5%, industrial exports increased 9.8%, and ship exports increased 15.4%.

Exports, according to Trade Minister Bang Moon-kyu, have continued to improve and are now at an “inflection point” for a shift to growth.

Imports declined 16.5% to $50.96 billion, which was less than the previous month’s 22.8% reduction and the consensus 17.6% expectation.

As a consequence, the country had a trade surplus of $3.70 billion in September. It was the fourth consecutive month of surplus and the most since September 2021.