Trade deficit hits nearly $5 billion during first 10 days of February

[Photo by Yonhap]

South Korea is expected to suffer a trade deficit for 11 straight months this month due to a continuous decline in exports of chips and outbound shipments to China, data showed on Monday.

The country’s exports gained 11.9 percent on year to $17.6 billion in the first 10 days of February, driven by stronger shipments of automobiles and more working days, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. But the daily export volume fell 14.5 percent on year because the number of working days was 8.5 days, up by two from a year ago.

Imports increased 16.9 percent on year to $22.6 billion during the same period, resulting in a trade deficit of $4.9 billion.

Outbound shipments of semiconductors reached $1.9 billion, down 40.7 percent from a year earlier. Semiconductor exports showed a decline for six consecutive months until last month, when the decline reached 44.5 percent on year.

Exports of wireless communication devices, home appliances and computer peripherals also dipped. On the other hand, exports of automobiles, petrochemicals, ships and steel products increased.