A truck carrying a shipping container travels past cranes at Pyeongtaek port in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, July 9, 2020. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File Photo
Seoul: South Korea suffered a trade deficit for the fourth consecutive month in July over high global energy prices, though its exports rose 9.4 percent on-year on solid demand for chips.
Outbound shipments stood at USD 60.7 billion last month, up from USD 55.5 billion a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
But the country posted a trade deficit of USD 4.67 billion last month, as imports jumped 21.8 percent on-year to reach an all-time monthly high of USD 65.37 billion, on soaring global energy prices.
South Korea depends on imports for most of its energy needs, and the country's energy imports surged 90.5 percent on-year to USD 18.5 billion in July, according to the ministry.
Imports have exceeded exports in South Korea since April, and it is the first time since 2008 that the country suffered a trade deficit for four months in a row.
Sales of semiconductors went up 2.1 percent on-year to USD 11.21 billion last month, the highest figure for any July, and the outbound shipments of petroleum products surged 86.5 percent to a record monthly high of USD 6.72 billion.
According to countries, South Korea's exports to the US reached an all-time high last month.
