South Korea’s Oct exports post worst fall in 26 months

A truck carrying a shipping container travels past cranes at Pyeongtaek port in Pyeongtaek, South Korea. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File photo

SEOUL  – South Korea’s exports in October suffered their fastest decline in more than two years and missed expectations as shipments to neighbouring China tumbled, government data showed on Tuesday.

Exports by Asia’s fourth-largest economy fell 5.7 percent from a year earlier to $52.48 billion in October, posting their biggest percentage fall since August 2020 and missing a median 3 percent loss tipped in a Reuters survey.

Exports to China, its largest market, fell 15.7 percent in October from a year earlier as the world’s second-largest economy is slowing from a mix of factors, including its strict restrictions to stop the spread of COVID-19.

South Korea also marked its first annual decline in exports since October 2020. Imports, though, jumped 9.9 percent to $59.18 billion, against a 6.9 percent gain expected in the Reuters poll.

The country posted a trade deficit of $6.70 billion in October as a result, bigger than a shortfall of $3.78 billion in September and the seventh consecutive month of imports outweighing exports.

The deficit is likely to further pressure the country’s won currency, already among Asia’s poorest performers this year, down 17 percent of its value from end-2021 against the dollar.