[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s exports may be on the recovery path, with the rate of year-on-year drop decreasing to a 12-month low.

According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the country’s June exports showed an on-year drop of 2.7 percent -- the smallest decrease recorded since June 2015 -- to come in at US$ 45.3 billion.

Since January 2015, Korea’s monthly exports have been declining, with the rate of decrease rising to 19.1 percent in January this year. The figure recorded in the first month of the year was the largest seen in more than six years. 



However, since April, the rate of decline has slowed. April exports showed a drop of 11.2 percent, and the figure for May came in at 6 percent.

“The lowest rate of decrease was recorded in June despite there being 0.5 less working days compared to the same period last year, (Korea) appears to have kept the foundations for exports recovery,” the ministry said.

In terms of trade balance, the June figure came in at a record high of US$ 11.6 billion, due mainly to imports falling faster than exports.

For the first six months of the year, exports fell 10 percent from a year ago to come in at US$ 241.8 billion while imports fell 13.5 percent to record US$ 192.3 billion.

By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)