According to the data released by the Export and Import Division of South Korea's Ministry of Knowledge Economy, South Korea recorded a $3.79 billion trade surplus in October, the ninth successive month it has done so.
Accordingly, in October South Korea's exports fell 8.3 percent year on year in value to $34.03 billion. In the month in question, exports of automobile parts increased by 1.4 percent in value, while the value of ship exports declined by 9.2 percent as a result of the base effect, both compared to October 2008.
During the first 20 days of October, South Korea's exports to Latin America decreased by 36.4 percent, its exports to the European Union fell by 19 percent, exports to the Middle East were down 34.2 percent, exports to China increased by 3.4 percent, exports to the United States decreased by 37.4 percent, exports to ASEAN countries were up nine percent, exports to Japan declined by 22.5 percent and exports to Oceania rose slightly by 0.5 percent, all compared to the same period of 2008.
In October, South Korea's imports slid 16.3 percent year on year to $30.23 billion. During the month in question, in terms of value, crude oil imports decreased by 18.6 percent, petroleum product imports declined by 11.3 percent, and gas imports fell by 42.3 percent, compared to the same period of the previous year. Meanwhile, imports of consumer goods rose by 0.9 percent year on year, marking the first increase this year.