According to the data released by the Export and Import Division of South Korea's Ministry of Knowledge Economy, South Korea's trade balance recorded a $5.37 billion surplus in September, which represents a sharp increase from $1.7 billion in August.
Accordingly, in September South Korea's exports fell 6.6 percent year on year in value to $34.97 billion, however, the rate of decline has slowed significantly. The exports of automobiles increased 20,5 percent.
During the first 20 days of September, exports to Latin America decreased by 25 percent, exports to the European Union fell by 30.5 percent, exports to the Middle East were down 30.2 percent, exports to China declined by 1.9 percent, exports to the United States decreased by 7.8 percent, exports to ASEAN countries were down 3.8 percent, exports to Japan declined by 12.4 percent and exports to Oceania fell by 9.1 percent, all compared to the same period of 2008.
In September, South Korea's imports slid 25.1 percent year on year to $29.6 billion. During the period in question, in terms of value, crude oil imports decreased by 38.3 percent, petroleum product imports declined by 37.9 percent, and gas imports fell by 58.3 percent, compared to the same period of the previous year.