In November South Korea recorded an increase in its exports in terms of value for the first time in over a year.
According to the data released by the Export and Import Division of South Korea's Ministry of Knowledge Economy, South Korea recorded a $4.05 billion trade surplus in November, the tenth successive month it has recorded a trade surplus.
Accordingly, in November South Korea's exports rose 18.8 percent year on year in value to $34.27 billion. In the month in question, exports of steel decreased by 4.1 percent in value, reaching $1.96 billion, the value of ship exports declined by 3.3 percent to $3.62 billion, exports of automobiles totaled $2.77 billion - down 13.7 percent, exports of automobile parts amounted to $1.29 billion - increasing by 50.7 percent, while exports of household goods totaled $900 million - up 43.7 percent, all compared to November 2008.
Exports to most key trading partners increased during the first 20 days of November, with the Middle East being a notable exception. South Korea's exports to Latin America increased by 63.8 percent, its exports to the European Union rose by 6.2 percent, exports to China increased by 52.2 percent, exports to the United States increased by 6.1 percent, exports to ASEAN countries were up 37.6 percent, exports to Japan increased by 11.2 percent and exports to Oceania climbed by 65.6 percent, while the country's exports to the Middle East declined by 12.8 percent, all compared to the same period of 2008.
In November South Korea's total imports rose 4.7 percent year on year to $30.22 billion, the first increase registered this year. During the month in question, in terms of value, raw material imports, including crude oil, gas, coal and steel fell 15.9 percent, compared to the same month of the previous year. Meanwhile, imports of petroleum products surged 80.8 percent, imports of consumer goods rose by 22.7 percent and imports of capital goods increased by 25.9 percent, all compared to November 2008.