Chip demand from major trading partners cools, South Korean exports hit biggest drop in 30 months in November

According to media reports, affected by the cooling demand for chips from major trading partners, South Korea's exports in November experienced the largest decline in recent years.

"The U.S. is the final destination for information technology products such as chips, and even if they are shipped to China first, U.S. demand does not look strong," said Gweon Hee-jin, an economist at KB Securities.

According to the latest statistics, South Korea's outbound cargo volume in November fell by 14.0% year-on-year to US$51.91 billion, the largest drop since May 2020.

In terms of trade partners, exports to China, the largest market, fell 25.5 percent in November, the sixth straight month of decline and the worst performance in more than a decade since May 2009. Exports to the US and EU rose 8.0% and 0.1%, respectively.

Overall, the risk of a global recession has weighed on South Korea's exports in recent months, with global demand conditions weakening as many major economies have aggressively raised borrowing costs to combat soaring inflation, the report said.

On the import front, South Korea's imports rose 2.7% to $58.93 billion in November, beating economists' consensus forecast, leading to a monthly trade deficit of $7.01 billion in November, up from a deficit of $6.7 billion the previous month and marking the eighth consecutive month. Monthly deficit.