S Korea Feb petrochemical exports fall 3.1%; overall shipments up 4.8%

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–South Korea’s petrochemical exports in February fell by 3.1% year on year to $3.94bn, reversing the 4.0% growth in the previous month, official data showed on Friday.

The country’s overall February exports rose by 4.8% year on year to $52.4bn, supported by a 66.7% year-on-year surge in semiconductor shipments, data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) showed.

Imports for the month fell by 13.1% year on year to $48.1bn, resulting in a trade surplus of $4.29bn.

Automobiles, which led South Korea’s exports in 2023, had a 7.8% year-on-year fall in February shipments to $5.16bn.

The drop in automobile exports was mainly due to the reduced number of working days due to the Lunar New Year holiday, as well as maintenance works at several production lines.

Overall February exports to China dipped by 2.4% year on year to $9.65bn. Despite the decline, South Korea achieved its first trade surplus with China since September 2022.

China is South Korea’s biggest trading partner.

To the US, exports rose by 9% year on year in February to $9.8bn.