Korea's June exports tipped to drop 9 pct amid pandemic: poll

SEOUL, June 26 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's export are expected to decrease at a slower pace in June than the previous month, a poll showed Friday, as economic activities have been gradually resuming across the globe.

The country's outbound shipments are estimated at US$40 billion this month, down 9 percent from $44.18 billion posted a year earlier, according to the poll by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency. The survey was carried out on eight local brokerage houses.

Imports were estimated at $37.3 billion, down roughly 7 percent on-year, leading to a trade surplus of $2.67 billion, the poll added.

The projected decline marks a slowdown from a whopping 24.3 percent and 23.7 percent on-year fall in April and May, respectively, which came amid the economic fallout from the new coronavirus pandemic.

Customs data showed that the country's outbound shipments have already fallen 7.5 percent on-year in the first 20 days of June.

South Korea had enjoyed a 3.6 percent rise in its outbound shipments in February, the first on-year rebound in 14 months, but its exports have been in a severe slump over the following months, as the COVID-19 pandemic has virtually suspended global supply chains and trade.

The slower pace of exports decline came as major economies around the globe slowly resumed their business activities, along with a calendar effect, as there were more working days in the month.

Outbound shipments of chips, one of South Korea's main growth engines, are expected to rise 2.6 percent on-year in June.

Exports of ships and mobile devices are likely to advance 35.5 percent and 10.9 percent respectively over the period, the poll showed.

The gains, however, may be offset by a sharp decrease in overseas demand for automobiles and petroleum products, which are estimated to have dropped 36.7 percent and 40.9 percent on-year respectively in the month.

The country will release its official exports data for June on Wednesday.

colin@yna.co.kr
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