Korea's exports down 6.1 pct in Jan.

SEOUL, Feb. 1 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's exports fell 6.1 percent in January from a year earlier, extending the slump to a 14th consecutive month due to fewer working days and still weak demand for chips, data showed Saturday.

Outbound shipments came to US$43.35 billion last month, compared with $46.17 billion posted a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

Imports moved down 5.3 percent on-year in January to $42.7 billion.

The country's trade surplus came to $620 million in January, marking 96 straight months in which the country's exports have exceeded imports.

The Lunar New Year's holiday, which follows the lunar calendar, fell during the Jan. 24-27 period this year, though it was in February in 2019.

South Korea's customs office earlier said the country's exports dropped only 0.2 percent on-year over the first 20 days of the month.

colin@yna.co.kr
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