South Korea has posted a new record high in annual exports for this year amid worsening market conditions caused by global inflation and hawkish monetary policy in major countries, government data showed Saturday.
South Korea’s cumulative exports had exceeded the previous year’s record high of US$644.4 billion as of 7 a.m., according to the data from the industry ministry.
The annual exports recorded until early in the day was up 6.8 percent from the same period a year earlier.
The ministry expects the figure could rise to as high as $680 billion by the end of this year.
The new record has been set amid worries that exports, a major growth engine for South Korea, are losing steam in the face of growing worries over a global economic recession.
China’s strict virus curbs have also been cited as a heavy drag on the export-driven economy as access to one of the world’s largest markets has been hampered by lockdowns in major cities.
South Korea’s exports shrank 5.7 percent on-year in October, the first downfall in two years. Outbound shipments also dropped 14 percent on-year in November, according to earlier government data.
It is the first time that exports had contracted for two straight months since early 2020, when the coronavirus was spreading fast.

Source: Yonhap News Agency
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