SEOUL (WAM)
The Republic of Korea's exports snapped their 15 straight months of annual increases in January due to a reduced number of business days from the extended Lunar New Year holiday, data showed Saturday, Yonhap reported.
Outbound shipments fell 10.3 per cent from a year earlier to $49.1 billion last month, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
Imports fell 6.4 per cent on-year to $51 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $1.89 billion, logging the first deficit in 20 months.
By sector, exports of semiconductors climbed 8.1 per cent to hit $10.1 billion, marking the second-highest amount for any January. It was also the ninth consecutive month for chip exports to surpass the $10 billion mark.
Outbound shipments of computers, including solid state drives, also advanced 14.8 percent to $800 million, rising for the 13th straight month.
Exports of automobiles, on the other hand, tumbled 19.6 per cent on-year to $5 billion as production was highly affected by the long holiday and a decrease in demand for diesel and electric vehicles.