S. Korea posts trade surplus of US$1.2 bln in October

SEOUL, Nov. 16 (Yonhap) -- South Korea posted its second monthly trade surplus in
October thanks to a decline in energy-related imports and modest export gains to
the U.S. and European markets, a government report said Sunday.
According to the Korea Customs Service (KCS), the trade surplus for October
reached US$1.21 billion as the country cut back on crude oil and other energy
resource imports.
The country exported $37.37 billion worth of goods for an annual gain of 8.5
percent, while imports rose 10.4 percent to $36.15 billion.
The definitive tally taken from customs reports filed by companies showed local
refiners importing 69,000 less barrels of crude in the cited month, improving the
trade balance which has been in the red for most of the year. The country posted
a trade surplus only once before in May, with this year's aggregate deficit
reaching just under $13.64 billion in the 10 months of 2008.
Exports to the United States and the European Union (EU), meanwhile, gained 5.3
percent and 5.7 percent respectively, while those for China -- South Korea's top
export destination -- fell into negative territory.
South Korean shipments bound for the U.S. and EU markets reached $4.44 billion
and $5.35 billion last month, while those to China were tallied at $7.53 billion,
down 2.6 percent from the same month in 2007.
The latest report said that exports to Japan gained 4.6 percent to $2.47 billion.
KCS, however, said export gains were overshadowed by greater gains in imports,
with the total trade deficit with Japan reaching $28.98 billion from January
through October, about the same as the $29 billion deficit with the neighbor
nation for the whole of 2007.
South Korea imports a high volume of components and manufacturing equipment from
Japan that are used to make finished products.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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