(LEAD) S. Korea's trade surplus to reach record US$31 bln by Sept.

(ATTN: UPDATES with more details in paras 5-6; ADDS with more information from para 8)
SEOUL, Sept. 28 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's trade surplus is expected to reach a
record US$31 billion in the first nine months of this year thanks mainly to a
sharper drop in imports compared to exports, the government said Monday.

Officials from the Ministry of Knowledge Economy and businesses executives said
at a joint trade review meeting that the country's exports contracted 21 percent
on-year from January through September, while imports plunged 33 percent.
They said the sharper drop in inbound shipments helped by lower international
crude oil prices and weak local demand for capital goods pushed up the trade
surplus to the highest levels yet.
"The size of the surplus so far, exceeds the $28.9 billion tallied in the nine
months of 1998 when the country was rocked by the Asian financial crisis," a
ministry official said. At that time the country was short of foreign reserves
and could not import goods.
He added that because overall trade volume has fallen off this year due to the
worldwide economic slump, South Korea's export ranking climbed three notches to
ninth place, leapfrogging both Britain and Canada that ranked 10th and 11th
respectively. South Korea's exports in the cited period totalled $165.4 billion
vis-a-vis $165.2 billion for Britain and $152.2 billion for Canada.
China ranked first among exporting countries with outbound goods totalling an
estimated $521.6 billion followed by Germany, the United States, Japan and
France.
For the fourth quarter, officials and businessmen predicted South Korea's exports
will rebound into positive territory fueled by overseas sales of semiconductors,
mobile communications equipment, display panels and information technology
products.
They said that South Korea's exports will rebound into positive territory around
November but a rise in crude prices and appreciation of the Korean won versus the
U.S. dollar could take its toll on the surplus volume.
Experts also predicted that ships, autos and general machinery may be hurt by
weaker overseas demand that can affect exports.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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