South Korea’s export growth has trailed off so far this year due to unfavorable external factors such as sluggish growth in emerging economies and a weak Japanese yen, a report by the country’s international traders organization said Monday.

Asia’s fourth-largest economy posted average export growth of 4.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013, but this has tapered off to just 0.7 percent on-year growth in the first two months of this year, the Korea International Trade Association said.

It added that daily export volume has also fallen off this year, with outbound shipments of petrochemicals, refined petroleum goods and liquid-crystal displays falling the most. It said lower prices for such products in the global market also affected total exports.

In addition, a weak Japanese yen has made Japanese products competing directly with South Korean goods cheaper in overseas markets, hurting exports. (Yonhap)