Korea's exports recorded at US$ 50.58 bil. in September, down 8.2% on-year

South Korea's trade ministry has released its preliminary data on exports and imports for September.For the fifth month in a row, outbound shipments topped 50 billion U.S. dollars.Kim Hyesung reports. Korea recorded 50-point-six billion U.S. dollars of exports in September, passing the 50 billion-dollar-mark for the fifth consecutive month.On-year, the figure is down eight-point-two percent, falling by the sharpest margin in over two years.But the decline is likely due to fewer working days. "There were four fewer working days in September due to the Chuseok holiday, resulting in a fall of around 8 billion dollars. But average exports per working day jumped 10-point-six percent on-year recording 2-point-59 billion dollars, the highest on record." These strong export figures came on the back of robust semiconductor exports, which increased more than 28 percent on-year last month to record 12-point-four billion dollars. Petroleum goods exports also expanded by double digits on strong demand and rising oil prices. But Korea's other major exports, including autos, machinery, and ships, all fell. "Exports of ships fell as the cyclical global shipping industry remains sluggish. Auto exports dropped this month mainly due to shorter working days. Diversifying exports, especially lowering Korea's reliance on semiconductors will be key in the long run. But overall, Korea's exports remain pretty strong on recovering global trade this year." Imports dropped 2-point-1 percent to around 41 billion dollars, leading to a trade surplus of nine-point-seven billion dollars last month, the 80th consecutive month of surplus. "Between January and September, Korea's exports hit a record high total of 450 billion dollars, up four-point-seven percent on-year. But the trade ministry pointed to the escalating U.S.-China trade spat, the U.S. rate hike and slowing emerging market growth as downside risks to Korea's economy...and vowed to secure auto tariff exemptions from the Trump administration as well as diversify Korea’s exports.Kim Hyesung, Arirang News.