South Korean exports fall 2.7% in Jan 1-20 period

Reuters

Published Jan 20, 2023 07:49PM ET

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's exports for the first 20 days of January fell 2.7% from a year earlier, but the pace of drop was slower than that recorded in December, customs data showed on Saturday.

In December, South Korean exports fell 9.0% on-year during the first 20 days and declined 9.6% for the full month, as global demand cooled after a wave of aggressive policy tightening to contain inflation.

For the first 20 days of January, exports to China fell 24.4%, whereas shipments to the United States rose 18.1%, the Korea Customs Service data showed.

Imports over Jan. 1-20 rose by 9.3% on-year, bringing South Korea's trade deficit to $10.26 billion over the period.