South Korean exports rose slightly faster than expected in October but imports saw their sharpest drop in 13 months, dragged down by softer demand for raw materials and capital goods, data showed on Saturday.
Shipments were mainly propped up by demand from the United States and China, while consumer goods imports gained, easing concerns over a slow recovery in domestic spending.
Exports grew 2.5 percent to $51.8 billion in October from a year earlier and imports fell 3.0 percent to $44.3 billion, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said on Saturday. Imports fell by the sharpest annual pace since a 3.5 percent decline in September 2013.
This resulted in a trade surplus of a record $7.5 billion, compared to a $3.4 billion surplus in September.
The median forecasts from a Reuters survey were for exports from Asia's fourth-largest economy to grow 1.9 percent in October from a year earlier and imports to rise by 0.6 percent.
"In the case of November, there will be a few negative factors like fewer working days, slowed recovery in Europe and Japan and conflict in the Ukraine area but if this trend carries on we expect trade volume this year to surpass $1 trillion towards the end of the month," said the trade ministry in a statement.
"We forecast South Korea will post record trade volume and exports this year."
The trade ministry data showed imports of consumer goods had risen 7.6 percent in the first 20 days of October on-year, compared to 3.4 percent and 9.0 percent drops in raw materials and capital goods over the same period, respectively.
The average export value per working day stood at $2.25 billion in October, compared with a revised $2.27 billion in September, Thomson Reuters calculations showed.
Breakdowns on export figures by destination showed shipments to China rose for a second straight month, gaining 3.7 percent on-year in October from a 6.5 percent gain in September.
Exports to the U.S. continued to grow strongly, jumping 25.0 percent in October, the fastest gain seen since March 2012.
But demand from the European Union slumped as its economy sputtered, with exports falling 8.6 percent last month on annual terms in the sharpest decline since September last year.
China is South Korea's largest export market, taking about one-quarter of total shipments by the smaller neighbor, followed by the United States and the European Union. By product, electronics goods account for more than one-fifth of South Korea's total exports, followed by chemical products and industrial machinery.
South Korea is the world's seventh-largest exporter and the first major exporting economy to report foreign trade data each month, making its trade figures a useful guide on the current strength of global demand.
Last week, data showed the economy expanded by 0.9 percent in the third quarter from the previous quarter, rebounding from a 0.5 percent rise in the second quarter. But industrial output was almost flat in September, and was well short of market expectations, adding to uncertainties over its tentative economic recovery.
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