[Aju News DB]
South Korea's exports shrank 18.5 percent in January, marking the sharpest fall since the depths of the global financial crisis in 2009, due to slumping shipments to China and a global economic slowdown, official data showed Monday.
Outbound shipments have been on a steady decline since January last year, with monthly exports in January standing at 36.7 billion US dollars,the biggest drop since August 2009 when shipments tumbled 20.9 percent, according to provisional data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
Exports to China tumbled 21.5 percent on-year for their seventh straight month of declines and the biggest drop since May 2009. Shipments to the United States fell 9.2 percent, down for a sixth straight month, while exports to the European Union rose 7.3 percent, reversing from a 7.7 percent decline in December.
In January, imports tumbled 20.1 percent on-year to $31.4 billion, bringing the country's monthly trade surplus down to $5.3 billion from a surplus of $5.8 billion a year earlier.
China's financial market has fluctuated on jitters about sputtering growth, prompting analysts to suggest that the central Bank of Korea may ease policy once again probably after the next meeting of policymakers on February 16. The base rate now stands at a record-low 1.50 percent.
Activity in China's manufacturing sector contracted at its fastest pace in almost three-and-a-half years in January, an official survey showed on Monday.
The official Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) stood at 49.4 in January, compared with the previous month's reading of 49.7 and below the 50-point mark that separates growth from contraction on a monthly basis. It is the weakest index reading since August 2012.
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The PMI marks the sixth consecutive month of factory activity contraction, underlining a weak start for the year for a manufacturing complex under severe pressure from falling prices and overcapacity in key sectors including steel and energy.
China's economic growth cooled to 6.9 percent in 2015, the slowest pace in 25 years, adding pressure to policymakers who are already struggling to restore the confidence of investors after a renewed plunge in stock markets and the yuan currency.
Manufacturing has been hit particularly hard by China's faltering construction sector, which drives final demand for many industrial products.
Separate central bank data on Monday showed South Korea's current account surplus rising to a record high of US$105.96 billion in 2015 from $84.37 billion a year ago.
In 2015, exports fell 10.5 percent on-year to $548.9 billions while imports plunged 18.2 percent to $428.56 billion.
Last year's deficit in the service sector widened to $15.71 billion from $3.68 billion deficit the previous year.
The travel account deficit widened to a record high of $9.67 billion in 2015 from a $5.37 billion deficit in 2014 due to the outbreak of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome that killed 38 people.
Charles Lim and Alex Lee
아주경제 임장원 기자 = cwlim34@ajunews.com
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
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