South Korea exports fall on fragile global recovery

Containers stacked at the Uiwang Inland Container Depot in Uiwang, South Korea (file). Exports by industrial powerhouse South Korea unexpectedly fell in December, hit by fewer working days and as global demand has yet to fully recover from a year-long slump. Overseas shipments last month fell by 5.5% from a year earlier to $45.10bn, while imports fell by 5.3% to $43.07bn, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said in a statement yesterday, producing a trade surplus of $2.03bn. The median forecast from a Reuters poll of 12 analysts had tipped exports by Asia’s fourth-largest economy to grow 0.9% in December over a year earlier, but views ranged widely from a 7.0% fall to a 4.1% rise. Imports had been expected to decline 2.2%. The government blamed the poor exports on the fact that there were three fewer working days last month than a year before. The average exports per working day did jump 7.7% to $2.10bn last month from $1.95bn a year earlier.