Merchandise Trade Balance in Korea
The merchandise trade balance in Korea averaged USD 50.1 billion in the decade to 2022. The 2022 reading was USD -47.8 billion. For more trade information, visit our dedicated page.
Korea Trade Chart
Korea Trade Data
2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Merchandise Trade Balance (USD bn) | 69.7 | 38.9 | 44.9 | 29.3 | -47.8 |
Merchandise exports increase at a quicker pace in January
Merchandise exports jumped 18.0% over the same month last year in January, on the heels of December’s 5.0% increase. January’s outturn marked the strongest growth since May 2022 and slightly exceeded market expectations. Adjusted for working day differences, exports rose 5.7%. Meanwhile, merchandise imports contracted 7.8% in annual terms in January (December: -10.8% yoy), marking the strongest result since March 2023. As a result, the merchandise trade balance deteriorated from the previous month, recording a USD 0.3 billion surplus in January (December 2020: USD 4.5 billion surplus; January 2023: USD 12.7 billion deficit). Lastly, the trend pointed up, with the 12-month trailing merchandise trade balance recording a USD 2.7 billion surplus in January, compared to the USD 10.2 billion deficit in December.
How should you choose a forecaster if some are too optimistic while others are too pessimistic? FocusEconomics collects Korean trade projections for the next ten years from a panel of 5 analysts at the leading national, regional and global forecast institutions. These projections are then validated by our in-house team of economists and data analysts and averaged to provide one Consensus Forecast you can rely on for each indicator. By averaging all forecasts, upside and downside forecasting errors tend to cancel each other out, leading to the most reliable trade forecast available for Korean trade.
Download one of our sample reports to visualize what a Consensus Forecast is and see our Korean trade projections.
Want to get access to the full dataset of Korean trade forecasts? Send an email to info@focus-economics.com.
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