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Shipments from Asia's fourth-largest economy, offering one of
the earliest snapshots of monthly global trade, fell 6.0% in
June from a year earlier to $54.24 billion in June, narrowing
from a 15.2% drop in May, trade ministry data showed on
Saturday.
The ministry said the improvement in the trade balance may pause
in July and August due to seasonal factors but was expected to
get back on track and exports swing back to growth.
The export drop was deeper than the 3.0% forecast in a Reuters
survey but still the second smallest in a downturn that began in
October.
Exports of semiconductors fell 28.0%, the smallest decline in
eight months. Automobile exports rose 58.3%, extending gains to
a 12th month, while ship exports jumped 98.6%.
Shipments to China fell 19.0%, the smallest decline since
October, while those to the United States fell 1.9% in their
third month of decline. Exports to the European Union rose 9.2%.
Imports fell 11.7% to $53.11 billion, narrowing from a 14.0%
fall the previous month and but slightly steeper than the 11.0%
decline expected by economists.
As a result, the country posted a trade surplus of $1.13 billion
in June after 15 months of deficits for the export-reliant
economy.
(Reporting by Jihoon Lee and Heekyong Yang; Editing by Diane
Craft and William Mallard)
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