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Korea recorded a US$1.2 billion trade surplus in October, the first black figures in five months. But the year's total trade deficit so far has reached $9 billion, a sign that the country will likely post its largest trade deficit since 1996, when it posted a $20.6 billion deficit.
The trade deficit for the year will likely exceed even the $8.45 billion at the height of the IMF crisis in 1997.
According to figures released by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy on Monday, Korea exported $37.89 billion worth of goods but imported $36.67 billion worth in October, a $1.22 billion surplus for the month.
The accumulated trade deficit from January until October was $13.45 billion. In October, exports to China and the EU, Korea¡¯s largest and second largest export partners, fell 1.8 percent and 8.2 percent year-on-year.
Roh Sung-ho, the survey and forecasting director at the Korea International Trade Association, said, "If we want to record a trade surplus amid the worldwide recession, we must develop uniquely differentiated goods or make efforts to find new markets in inland China and the Middle East."
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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