South Korean exports last month slumped the most in more than six years, with hefty drops in shipments to China, the US and Europe suggesting a further weakening in global demand.
The South Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy attributed the declines mainly to a sharp fall in ship contracts and low oil prices, but the sharper-than-expected deterioration is likely to add to fears that a deeper chill is settling over the international economy.
Exports last month fell 15.8 percent year-on-year to US$43.5 billion, their 10th straight month of declines and the sharpest fall since August 2009, ministry data showed yesterday.
Imports slumped 16.6 percent to US$36.8 billion.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected a 14.5 percent drop in exports and a 13.4 percent fall in imports.
The trade surplus fell to US$6.7 billion from a revised $8.9 billion in September.
The slump in exports was partially expected by economists as South Korea posted a record high in shipments last year. The average export value per working day was US$1.89 billion last month, less than a revised US$2.02 billion in the previous month, Reuters calculations showed.
“Judging by the smaller average daily export value, export momentum is still weak and it will affect fourth-quarter growth. Consumption is on the rise, but without exports recovering it will be difficult for 2015 GDP to rise as much as the government wants,” HI Investment & Securities chief economist Park Sang-hyun said.
However, Park said that he did not believe the Bank of Korea would cut interest rates in coming months as third-quarter growth was robust and policymakers would want to see full-year growth data, which will be released early next year.
The current base rate stands at 1.50 percent.
Central bank estimates last month showed third-quarter GDP growth rose at its fastest pace in five years as consumption recovered.
Details from the ministry showed South Korea’s exports to China, the US and Europe all fell last month from a year earlier, with shipments to top market China down 8 percent, to the US 11.4 percent and to the EU down 12.5 percent.
South Korea is the first major exporting economy to report monthly trade data and is home to global suppliers such as Samsung Electronics Co, Hyundai Motor Co and Hyundai Heavy Industries Co.
Samsung Electronics on Thursday said that earnings would fall sequentially in the fourth quarter due to seasonal weakness in demand for components, and as currency conditions — which added 800 billion won (US$702 million) to profit in the third quarter — became less favorable.
KEEPING UP: The acquisition of a cleanroom in Taiwan would enable Micron to increase production in a market where demand continues to outpace supply, a Micron official said Micron Technology Inc has signed a letter of intent to buy a fabrication site in Taiwan from Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電) for US$1.8 billion to expand its production of memory chips. Micron would take control of the P5 site in Miaoli County’s Tongluo Township (銅鑼) and plans to ramp up DRAM production in phases after the transaction closes in the second quarter, the company said in a statement on Saturday. The acquisition includes an existing 12 inch fab cleanroom of 27,871m2 and would further position Micron to address growing global demand for memory solutions, the company said. Micron expects the transaction to
Vincent Wei led fellow Singaporean farmers around an empty Malaysian plot, laying out plans for a greenhouse and rows of leafy vegetables. What he pitched was not just space for crops, but a lifeline for growers struggling to make ends meet in a city-state with high prices and little vacant land. The future agriculture hub is part of a joint special economic zone launched last year by the two neighbors, expected to cost US$123 million and produce 10,000 tonnes of fresh produce annually. It is attracting Singaporean farmers with promises of cheaper land, labor and energy just over the border.
US actor Matthew McConaughey has filed recordings of his image and voice with US patent authorities to protect them from unauthorized usage by artificial intelligence (AI) platforms, a representative said earlier this week. Several video clips and audio recordings were registered by the commercial arm of the Just Keep Livin’ Foundation, a non-profit created by the Oscar-winning actor and his wife, Camila, according to the US Patent and Trademark Office database. Many artists are increasingly concerned about the uncontrolled use of their image via generative AI since the rollout of ChatGPT and other AI-powered tools. Several US states have adopted
A proposed billionaires’ tax in California has ignited a political uproar in Silicon Valley, with tech titans threatening to leave the state while California Governor Gavin Newsom of the Democratic Party maneuvers to defeat a levy that he fears would lead to an exodus of wealth. A technology mecca, California has more billionaires than any other US state — a few hundred, by some estimates. About half its personal income tax revenue, a financial backbone in the nearly US$350 billion budget, comes from the top 1 percent of earners. A large healthcare union is attempting to place a proposal before
RSS