Korea’s exports rise 8.2 per cent in 2024 to new annual record

The Republic of Korea’s exports advanced 8.2 per cent on-year in 2024 to set a new annual record on robust shipments of semiconductors, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing government data.

Outbound shipments came to $683.8 billion last year, compared with the previous record of $683.6 billion set in 2022, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

Imports fell 1.6 on-year to $632 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $51.8 billion.

Meanwhile the Republic of Korea’s inflationary pressures partially eased this year, following the highest price growth in decades during the post-pandemic period, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing government data.

Consumer prices, a key gauge of inflation, increased 2.3 per cent on-year in 2024, the slowest pace in four years, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. They had gained 2.5 per cent, 5.1 per cent and 3.6 per cent in the previous three years, respectively.

The 2024 reading aligns with the Bank of Korea’s forecast of 2.3 per cent released in November and approaches its target rate of 2 per cent.

Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, went up 2.2 per cent on-year in 2024. Korea’s consumer inflation has stayed below 3 per cent since April and fell below the 2 per cent target for the first time in September.

The Republic of Korea’s inflationary pressures partially eased this year, following the highest price growth in decades during the post-pandemic period, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing government data.

Consumer prices, a key gauge of inflation, increased 2.3 per cent year- on-year in 2024, the slowest pace in four years, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.

They had gained 2.5 per cent, 5.1 per cent and 3.6 per cent in the previous three years, respectively.

The 2024 reading aligns with the Bank of Korea’s forecast of 2.3 per cent released in November and approaches its target rate of 2 per cent.

Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, went up 2.2 per cent on-year in 2024.

Korea’s consumer inflation has stayed below 3 per cent since April and fell below the 2 per cent target for the first time in September.

Meanwhile the Republic of Korea’s consumer inflation slows to lowest level in nearly 4 years in October.

The Republic of Korea’s consumer prices slowed to the lowest level in 45 months in October, staying below 2 per cent for the second consecutive month, data showed Tuesday.

Yonhap News Agency quoted data from Statistics Korea as saying that consumer prices - a key gauge of inflation - rose 1.3 per cent on-year last month, compared with a 1.6 per cent on-year increase in September.

October’s figure marked the lowest level since January 2021, when consumer prices grew 0.9 per cent.

Consumer inflation has stayed below 3 per cent since April and fell below the target rate of 2 per cent for the first time in September.

The finance ministry has said that the country is projected to reach the target rate by around the end of 2024, and this year’s prices are projected to rise 2.6 per cent.

Meanwhile South Korea’s factory output fell more sharply than expected in November, government data showed on Monday, amid slowing exports and weakening business confidence.

The industrial output index fell 0.7 per cent over the month on a seasonally adjusted basis, after no change in the prior month.

That compared with a fall of 0.4 per cent forecast in a Reuters survey of economists.

On an annual basis, the index was up 0.1 per cent, according to Statistics Korea, slower than gains of 6.3 per cent the month before and 0.4 per cent expected by economists.

Last month, South Korea’s export growth slowed to a 14-month low, as shipments to the United States and China fell amid tariff uncertainty.

The country’s business sentiment hit this month the weakest in more than four years.

The Republic of Korea’s industrial output fell 0.4 per cent in November from the previous month, marking a third straight month of decline, as automobile production slumped despite strong gains in the semiconductor sector, government data showed

The Republic of Korea’s exports extended on-year gains to the 14th straight month in November, data showed Sunday, on the back of the strong performance of chips, Yonhap News Agency reported.

Outbound shipments rose 1.4 per cent from a year earlier to $56.3 billion last month, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.