S.Korea's export falls 3.4 pct in 1st 20 days of June

SEOUL, June 21 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's export fell in the first 20 days of this month owing to fewer business days, customs office data showed Tuesday.

Export amounted to 31.28 billion U.S. dollars during the June 1-20 period, down 3.4 percent from the same period of last year, according to Korea Customs Service.

It was attributed to fewer business days. The number of working days in the 20-day period was 13.5 days, down by 2 days from a year earlier.

The daily average export advanced 11.0 percent in the cited period.

Oil products shipment soared 88.3 percent on higher price for crude oil, and those for semiconductors and home appliances gained 1.9 percent and 2.0 percent respectively.

Export for cars, auto parts and mobile devices declined in double digits in the 20-day period.

Export to China, South Korea's biggest trading partner, fell 6.8 percent, and those to the United States, the European Union (EU) and Vietnam dwindled in single figures.

Import surged 21.1 percent from a year earlier to 38.92 billion dollars in the 20-day period, resulting in a trade deficit of 7.64 billion dollars.

In 2022, the country recorded trade deficits of 4.74 billion dollars in January, 2.51 billion dollars in April and 1.71 billion dollars in May on higher energy import costs.

Import for the country's three major energy sources of crude oil, coal and natural gas, stood at 9.26 billion dollars for the first 20 days of June, up 67.5 percent from a year ago.