According to the data released on September 1 by the Export and Import Division of South Korea's Ministry of Knowledge Economy, in August South Korea's trade balance recorded a $1.7 billion surplus in August - the seventh consecutive month in which the country has registered a trade surplus.
Accordingly, in August South Korea's exports fell 20.6 percent year on year in value to $29.1 billion. During the first 20 days of August, exports to Latin America decreased by 19.8 percent, exports to the European Union fell by 41.3 percent, exports to the Middle East were down 30.2 percent, exports to China declined by 13.2 percent, exports to the United States decreased by 13.1 percent, exports to ASEAN countries were down 22.4 percent, exports to Japan declined by 20.7 percent and exports to Oceania fell by 27.3 percent, all compared to the same period of 2008.
In August South Korea's imports slid 32.2 percent year on year to $27.4 billion. During the period in question, in terms of value, crude oil imports decreased by 45.9 percent, petroleum product imports declined by 48.5 percent, and gas imports fell by 55.8 percent, compared to the same period of the previous year. However, consumer confidence is picking up and this seems to have slowed the rate of decline.
On the other hand, according to the information provided by South Korea's Ministry of Strategy and Finance on August 31, the country's seasonally adjusted industrial production index in July increased to 123.6 points, up two percent from the previous month, and 0.7 percent from the same month of the previous year.