High Cost of Raw Materials Hammers Korea's Trade Balance

Korea's exports surged 34.9 percent on-year in August to a monthly record high of US$53.23 billion.

At the same time, however, imports increased even more, by 44 percent, to $51.56 billion, resulting in the trade surplus halving to $1.67 billion from $3.65 billion a year earlier.

In a more worrying sign, the trade balance turned into a deficit of some $1.5 billion during the first 10 days of this month.

The worsening trade balance has been largely attributed to soaring raw materials prices.