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South Korea’s exports contracted for a fourth straight month in January on sluggish global demand.
Exports fell 16.6% from a year earlier to $46.27 billion, following a revised 9.6% drop in December, according to preliminary data released by the country’s trade ministry on Wednesday. That missed a median market forecast for a 13% decline in January.
Shipments to China and the U.S., South Korea’s major trading partners, fell on weak demand as exports of semiconductors declined significantly on lower memory-chip prices.
Imports fell 2.6% from a year earlier to $58.96 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $12.69 billion in January.
The country last year posted its first annual trade deficit since 2008, at the height of the financial crisis.
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