South Korea March exports drop but not by as much as expected

Adds details from ministry’s data

SEOUL, April 1 (Reuters) – South Korea’s exports fell in March year-on-year for the sixth month in a row, hit by a cooling global economy and a persistent slump in the semiconductor sector, but exports did not fall by as much as expected, data showed on Saturday.

Asia’s fourth-largest economy exported goods worth $55.12 billion in March, down 13.6% from a year earlier, the trade ministry’s data showed, compared with drops of 7.5% in February and the 17.5% tipped in a Reuters poll.

It was the longest losing streak in exports in annual terms since August 2020.

Imports in March fell 6.4% to $59.75 billion, versus a 3.5% rise in the previous month and a 6.6% fall expected by economists. It was the fastest drop since August 2020.

As a result, the country clocked a trade deficit of $4.62 billion in March, the 13th consecutive month of deficits.

(Reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Choonsik Yoo and Muralikumar Anantharaman)

((jihoon.lee@thomsonreuters.com;))

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