South Korea logs 5.5 bln USD of trade deficit in first 10 days of July

Seoul (South Korea), July 11 (ANI/Xinhua): South Korea logged a trade deficit in the first 10 days of this month due to faster growth in imports than export, caused by higher energy costs, customs office data showed Monday.
The trade deficit amounted to 5.53 billion U.S. dollars in the July 1-10 period, according to Korea Customs Service.
The trade balance stayed in the red for the past three months, with deficits of 2.47 billion dollars in April, 1.71 billion dollars in May and 2.47 billion dollars in June respectively.
It was attributed to a faster increase in imports than export amid higher commodity prices, driven by the prolonged geopolitical risks in Europe.
Export rose 4.7 per cent from a year earlier to 15.78 billion dollars for the first 10 days of July, while imports advanced 14.1 per cent to 21.31 billion dollars.
The import of the country's three major energy sources, including crude oil, natural gas and coal, amounted to 6.5 billion dollars in the 10-day period, up 77.4 per cent from a year earlier.
Imports from Saudi Arabia almost tripled in the period, and those from China and the United States expanded by 13.2 per cent and 4.9 per cent each.
Meanwhile, oil products exported nearly doubled in the cited period, and those for semiconductors and automobiles went up 10.4 per cent and 6.1 per cent respectively.
Export to the United States and Vietnam gained 6.2 per cent and 15.5 per cent each, but shipments to China and the European Union (EU) declined 8.9 per cent and 18.6 per cent respectively. (ANI/Xinhua)