▲ A container terminal at Incheon Port, west of Seoul, bustles with cargo trucks transporting containers on June 15, 2022, after unionized truckers ended their weeklong strike by reaching a deal with the transport ministry the previous day to extend the minimum wage guarantee beyond its scheduled expiration at the end of the year. (Yonhap)

trade balance-June

Exports up 5.4 pct in June; trade deficit hits record high in H1

SEOUL, July 1 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's exports rose 5.4 percent on-year in June on solid demand for chips and petroleum products, but the country suffered a trade deficit due to high global energy prices, data showed Friday.

Outbound shipments stood at US$57.73 billion last month, up from $54.78 billion a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

It is the highest tally for any June since the ministry began compiling related data in 1956. The previous record was set a year earlier.

Imports jumped 19.4 percent on-year to $60.2 billion on soaring global energy prices, leading the country to post a trade deficit of $2.47 billion, the data showed.

During the first six months of the period, South Korea saw exports grow 15.6 percent to $35.03 billion, reaching the highest figure ever.

But high-flying energy prices caused imports to advance 26.2 percent to $36.06 billion during the cited period, and the trade deficit reached a record half-year high of $10.3 billion, according to the data.

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