South Korea’s trade surplus widens 42.7% in Feb

According to media reports, data from the Korea Customs Service showed that South Korea’s imports fell at a faster pace than exports in February. Exports fell 12.2% on the year to $36.4 billion in February while imports plunged 14.6% to $29.02 billion, widening the country’s trade surplus to $7.38 billion from $5.17 billion in January. This represented an increase of 42.7% on the month.

Exports of mobile communication devices climbed 9.9% on the year while exports of semiconductors and ships declined 12.6% and 46.1%, respectively. Exports of automobiles, auto parts and petroleum products also slipped in February. South Korea’s exports to China and Japan were down 12.9% and 15%, respectively, to $8.9 billion and $1.7 billion in February while shipments to European Union countries rose 5% to $3.08 billion.

The decrease in imports was partly attributed to low oil prices. The country’s crude oil imports fell 30.6% on the year to $2.8 billion in February. However, South Korea’s imports of Iranian crude oil surged 91% to 269,020 barrels per day (bpd) in February compared with the same month of 2015.