Commodity Online
SEOUL : Exports by Asia’s fourth largest economy, South Korea, fell sharply in the first twenty days of this year as recession gripped many overseas markets.
In a statement issued here by Korea’s Customs Service said exports fell an estimated 29 per cent to $12.476 billion in the first 20 days compared to the same period last year.
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Imports fell 22.5 per cent to $17.05 billion, leaving a $4.57 billion trade deficit.
Exports, the backbone of the economy, have shrunk year-on-year since November as the global downturn bites. Last month the economy lost 12,000 jobs, the first such contraction in more than five years.
A state-run think tank Wednesday forecast growth of just 0.7 per cent this year, the slowest since the East Asian financial crisis of a decade ago.
The Korea Development Institute said the economy was seen as slipping into a recession phase" due to declining domestic consumption and exports.
It expects a contraction of 2.6 percent in the first half of this year, followed by 3.8 per cent growth in July-December.
Other major research institutes and investment banks have also downgraded their forecasts for Asia's fourth-largest economy, with some predicting the first recession for over a decade.
South Korea’s central bank will Thursday release fourth-quarter GDP figures.
