오석민
| 2022-05-01 09:52:11
(LEAD) trade balance-April
(LEAD) S. Korea's exports up 12.6 pct in April, trade deficit widens on high energy prices
(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with details)
By Oh Seok-min
SEOUL, May 1 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's exports rose 12.6 percent in April from a year earlier on the back of brisk demand for chips and petroleum products, but the trade deficit widened on soaring global energy prices, data showed Sunday.
Outbound shipments stood at US$57.69 billion last month, up from $51.23 billion a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
It is the highest tally for any April since the ministry began compiling related data in 1956. The previous record was set in April 2021.
April marked the 18th consecutive month that the country's exports have logged an on-year expansion. Exports also posted double-digit growth for the 14th month in a row last month.
The accumulated exports for the first four months of this year came to $230.6 billion. It is the first time ever that the figure for the January-April period surpassed the $200 billion mark, the ministry said.
But high global energy prices also pushed up the country's imports last month, leading the country to post a trade deficit for the second consecutive month.
Imports grew 18.6 percent on-year to $60.35 billion, and the trade deficit came to $2.66 billion, up from a deficit of $140 million the previous month.
Dubai crude, South Korea's benchmark, rose to $102.82 per barrel in April on average from $62.92 a year earlier.
South Korea depends on imports for most of its energy needs, and the country's energy imports more than doubled on-year to $14.81 billion in April, the ministry said.
By item, overseas demand for the country's key export items grew amid a global economic recovery.
Sales of semiconductors and petroleum products surged 15.8 percent and 68.6 percent, respectively, in April to lead the overall exports growth.
Steel products also saw their sales overseas jump 21.1 percent on-year last month, and computer and bio sectors enjoyed 56.4 percent and 14.2 percent on-year growth in April, respectively.
By nation, exports to the United States, the European Union, ASEAN and India reached an all-time high for any April ever last month, the industry said.
But shipments to China fell 3.4 percent on-year due mainly to the country's lockdown of Shanghai and other major cities over the fast spread of COVID-19.
Exports bound for the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) also marked an on-year decline in April amid the crisis surrounding Ukraine, the ministry said.
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