According to the data released on June 1 by the Export and Import Division of South Korea's Ministry of Knowledge Economy, the national trade balance recorded a $5.15 billion surplus in May. The country has recorded a trade surplus for the past four consecutive months, with the total reaching $14.5 billion for the period in question.
Accordingly, in May South Korea's exports fell 28.2 percent year on year to $28.23 billion. During the first 20 days of May, exports to Latin America decreased by 32.1 percent, exports to the European Union fell by 20 percent, exports to China by 22.8 percent, to the United States by 20 percent, to ASEAN countries by 27.1 percent and to Japan by 36.3 percent. Meanwhile, shipments to Oceania increased by 168.4 percent compared to the same period of 2008.
Due to the low cost of oil and raw materials, South Korea's imports slid 40.4 percent year on year to $23.08 billion. During the period in question, crude oil imports decreased by 61 percent, petroleum products by 29 percent, steel by 58 percent and gas by 64 percent, compared to the same period of the previous year.
On the other hand, according to the information provided by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance on June 1, South Korea's industrial production index in April increased to 113.1 points, up 2.6 percent from the previous month, but decreased by 8.2 percent from the same period of the previous year. Meanwhile, the value of domestic machinery orders received in April fell 25.7 percent from the same period of the previous year, but increased 4.5 percent compared to March.