S Korea’s trade deficit deepens in April

SOUTH Korea’s exports reached a record high in April, but the trade deficit widened as rising energy prices pushed up import prices.

According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on Sunday, the country’s outbound shipments came to

5 . 9 billion last month, up 12. percent from a year earlier.

It marks the largest figure for any April since the nation began compiling related data in 195 . The combined exports for the first four months of the year surpassed 200 billion for the first time.

Despite the strong export figures, the nation posted a trade deficit for the second straight month, widening the deficit to 2. billion in April from 140 million in March.

The trade deficit is attributed to a spike in the country’s import prices due to soaring global energy prices. In April, imports rose 1 . percent on-year to 0.35 billion. The nation’s imports of energy products such as crude oil, natural gas and coal, came to 14. 1 billion in April, more than doubling from a year earlier.

Exports to China, South Korea’s biggest trading partner, were hurt by Beijing’s zero-coronavirus policies, with lockdowns hitting industrial production and disrupting supply chains. Shipments to China fell 3.4 percent, while those to the United States rose 2 .4 and to the European Union increased .4 percent.

Exports of semiconductors, the country’s top foreign exchange earner, climbed 15. percent, while petrochemical products rose . percent. Outbound shipments of oil jumped . percent and steel products rose 21.1 percent. Imports increased 1 . percent to 0.35 billion, led by a combined 14. 1 billion worth of imports of crude oil, gas and coal.