South Korea Balance of Trade

South Korea posted a trade deficit of USD 2.5 billion in June 2022, shifting from a surplus of USD 4.37 billion in the same month a year earlier, compared to market consensus of a 4.83 billion gap. It was the third straight month of deficit in trade balance, as imports rose faster than exports, amid soaring commodity prices, preliminary data showed. Imports rose by 19.4 percent year-on-year to USD 60.2 billion, the 17th straight month of double-digit growth in arrivals, while exports grew 5.4 percent to USD 57.73 billion, the first single-digit growth in exports in 16 months and the weakest growth since November 2020. For the first half of the year, the country registered a trade gap of USD 10.3 billion, the biggest on record.