South Korea’s exports fell less than economists estimated last month, adding to signs that trade may start to rebound from the slump triggered by the global financial crisis.
Overseas shipments declined 8.3 percent from a year earlier to US$34 billion, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said yesterday in Gwacheon.
The median estimate of 10 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was for an 11.8 percent drop.
Imports fell 16.3 percent to US$30.2 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of US$3.8 billion.
“Exports are still on the decline, but Korea will see an increase in coming months,” said Lee Sang-jae, an economist at Hyundai Securities Co in Seoul. “Demand from China is helping sustain South Korean exports, while orders from the US and elsewhere still remain weak.”
Exports, which make up more than half of the economy, may start to rebound this month, the government said last month.
Samsung Electronics Co, Asia’s biggest maker of chips, flat screens and mobile phones, said on Friday that profit tripled to a quarterly record. LG Electronics Inc reported quarterly profit that beat analysts’ estimates, boosted by record shipments of televisions and higher sales of appliances.
The nation’s GDP expanded 2.9 percent in the third quarter from three months earlier, the fastest pace in seven years.
South Korean Finance Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun said full-year economic growth is possible this year, compared with an earlier forecast of a 1.5 percent contraction.
Exports to China, the biggest buyer of South Korean goods, gained 3.4 percent in the first 20 days of last month. Exports to the US slid 37.4 percent, the ministry said. Shipments to Japan declined 22.5 percent over the same period.
Car exports dropped 39.3 percent in the first 20 days of last month and semiconductor shipments gained 32.8 percent from the same period last year.
There are additional signs South Korea’s economy is recovering. Factory production gained at the fastest pace in three months in September, manufacturers’ confidence stayed near a two-year high and consumer confidence climbed to a seven-year high, earlier reports showed.
Economies across Asia are “rebounding fast” from the global crisis, helped by fiscal support that the region’s governments must maintain amid weak global export demand, the IMF said on Thursday.
Growth in Asia including Japan, Australia and New Zealand will probably accelerate to 5.8 percent next year from 2.8 percent this year, it said.
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