South Korea Balance of Trade

South Korea's trade surplus increased to USD 4.88 billion in April 2025, up from USD 1.53 billion in the same month a year earlier, larger than market expectations of USD 4.40 billion, preliminary data showed, as exports rose while imports fell. Exports unexpectedly grew by 3.7% year-on-year, easily beating market forecasts of a 1.6% fall, after a downwardly revised 3.0% gain in the prior month, due to a surge in semiconductor exports. It marked the third consecutive month of expansion in exports and the fastest pace in the sequence, despite the shipment to the US declining by 6.8%, due to Trump's hefty tariffs. Meanwhile, imports dropped 2.3%, reversing a 2.3% growth in the previous month, compared to market estimates of a 6.9% fall, amid a plunge in energy imports.