S. Korean oil product exports rise for 5th month in March

SEOUL, April 27 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's outbound shipments of oil products rose
for the fifth straight month in March on the back of the global economic
recovery, an industry association said Tuesday.
The Korea Petroleum Association said the country's exports of oil products rose
38 percent from a year ago to US$6.02 billion in the first quarter.
In terms of volume, exports fell 12.2 percent from a year ago to 72.12 million
barrels.
The 2008 global financial crisis sent the country's oil product exports downward
between October 2008 and October 2009, the association said.
The association attributed the recent rise in the value of oil product exports to
increased oil prices, with diesel exports up 12.7 percent to $1.99 billion.
During the January-March period, South Korea's oil product exports to China
registered $1.38 billion, making up 23 percent of the country's overall oil
product exports.
China was followed by Indonesia and Japan with 11.4 percent each, and the United
States with 11.1 percent.
ksnam@yna.co.kr
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