South Korea's trade deficit hits record high in August

South Korea's trade deficit hit a record monthly high in August due to a faster increase in imports than export, government data showed Thursday.

The trade deficit amounted to 9.47 billion U.S. dollars in August, staying in the red for the fifth consecutive month, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy.

It marked the highest deficit since relevant data began to be compiled in 1956, almost doubling the previous high of 4.9 billion dollars tallied in January this year.

Export gained 6.6 percent from a year earlier to 56.67 billion dollars in August, while imports soared 28.2 percent to 66.15 billion dollars.

The August import reached a new monthly high, topping 60 billion dollars for six successive months on higher raw material prices.

Import of the country's key energy sources, composed of crude oil, natural gas, and coal, amounted to 18.52 billion dollars in August, up 91.8 percent from a year earlier.

Imports for precision chemical materials, such as lithium hydroxide used to make batteries, surged 82.8 percent last month, and semiconductor imports advanced 26.1 percent.

The import rose at a faster pace than export for the 15th straight month since June 2021.

The export continued to expand for 22 months since November 2020, but it kept a single-digit increase since June after having grown in double digits.

Export for six of the 15 major export items gained ground last month including oil products and secondary batteries.

Oil products shipment more than doubled to 6.57 billion dollars in August, while secondary batteries export spiked 35.7 percent to reach a record monthly high of 940 million dollars.

Automotive export jumped 35.9 percent to 4.12 billion dollars, and steel shipments added 2.8 percent to 3.24 billion dollars.

Semiconductor export reduced by 7.8 percent over the year to 10.78 billion dollars in August, marking the first decline in 26 months amid weaker global demand and lower chip prices.

Shipment for mobile devices dipped 20.7 percent to 1.32 billion dollars on soft demand for smartphones from Asia.

Export for display panels and computers retreated 5.7 percent and 30.0 percent respectively to the global economic slowdown.

Petrochemicals shipment shrank 11.7 percent to 4.4 billion dollars amid the supply glut, and home appliances export dwindled 8.6 percent to 610 million dollars.

Export to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations picked up 21.7 percent over the year to 10.86 billion dollars in August, surpassing 10 billion dollars for the 10th consecutive month amid solid demand for locally-made chips and oil products.

Shipment to the United States increased by 13.7 percent to 8.76 billion dollars on higher demand for electric vehicles and secondary batteries.

Export to the European Union gained 7.3 percent to 5.4 billion dollars due to robust demand for oil products and general machinery.

Shipment to Japan, India, and the Middle East grew to 2.58 billion dollars, 1.63 billion dollars, and 1.34 billion dollars respectively last month, but export to Latin American countries shrank to 2.23 billion dollars.    ( Xinhua )