Weak currency helps S. Korea post record trade surplus in 2009

SEOUL, Jan. 20 (Yonhap) -- A soft local currency and low oil prices helped South
Korea post a record trade surplus last year, a local economist said Wednesday.

South Korea's trade surplus touched an all-time high of US$40.4 billion last
year. Exports fell 13.9 percent in 2009 from a year ago to $363.5 billion won,
and imports slipped 25.8 percent to $323.1 billion, according to government data.

In 2009, the foreign exchange rate rose to an average 1,276 won per US$1,
compared with 1,103 won per dollar in 2008, said Hyundai Economic Research
Institute Lim Sang-soo in a report.
The currency effect helped South Korea increase exports by $19.6 billion and
decrease imports by $5.8 billion, Lim said.
Adding to the currency's effect, low oil prices also contributed the country's
record trade surplus, Lim said.
The average price of Dubai crude oil, South Korea's benchmark, fell to $62 per
barrel in 2009, compared with $94 per barrel in 2008, Lim said. That helped South
Korea increase its trade surplus by $21.4 billion last year.
"While the nation's trade surplus hit a record high last year, the calculations
show that about 87.1 percent of the surplus stemmed from a rise in foreign
exchange rates and low oil prices," Lim said in the report.
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