Exports from July 1-20 Decrease by 2.2% as Exports to US and China Decline

[Financial News] Exports from July 1-20 decreased by 2.2% compared to the same period last year as exports to the United States and China declined. The export growth trend, which had turned positive last month, is showing a slight slowdown. However, as imports also decreased, the trade balance recorded a surplus of 500 million dollars.
 According to the provisional statistics compiled by the Korea Customs Service on the 21st, exports from July 1-20 decreased by 2.2% year-on-year to 36.1 billion dollars. Considering the number of working days, the average daily export amount increased by 4.1% to 2.33 billion dollars. The number of working days during this period was 15.5 days, one day shorter than last year.
 By major export items, semiconductors (16.5%), passenger cars (3.9%), and ships (172.2%) increased, while petroleum products (-17.5%) and auto parts (-8.4%) decreased.
 By export country, exports to China (-5.9%) and the United States (-2.1%) decreased, while exports to the European Union (3.0%), Vietnam (1.1%), and Taiwan (29.9%) increased.
 Imports decreased by 2.2% to 35.6 billion dollars. The trade balance recorded a surplus of 500 million dollars.
 By major import items, imports of machinery (6.6%) and semiconductor manufacturing equipment (28.3%) increased, while imports of crude oil (-11.6%), semiconductors (-0.6%), and gas (-6.2%) decreased.
 By country, imports from the European Union (8.6%), Japan (0.9%), and Taiwan (0.5%) increased, while imports from China (-0.01%) and the United States (-28.4%) decreased.
 Meanwhile, exports for the entire month of June amounted to 59.8 billion dollars, a 4.3% increase compared to the same month last year, turning positive again after one month. Semiconductor exports achieved a record high of 14.97 billion dollars (11.6%↑), driven by strong demand for high-value products such as high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and DDR5, and rising fixed prices, continuing a four-month growth streak since March. Automobile exports recorded a record high for June at 6.3 billion dollars (2.3%↑).
 Imports increased by 3.3% to 50.72 billion dollars, and the trade balance recorded a surplus of 9.08 billion dollars. The surplus is the largest since September 2018 (9.62 billion dollars).

kwj5797@fnnews.com Kim Won-jun Reporter