SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea posted a monthly trade deficit of $12.7 billion in January. Exports of computer chips and other high-tech goods and the cost of importing oil and gas are rising, the Commerce Ministry reported on Wednesday. . The growing shortage Russia’s war on Ukraine in 2022 has shown that it is roiling the world economy, sending prices of key resources such as crude oil and nickel soaring even after falling back from the 2022 deal. The longest run of growth since the 1997 Asian financial crisis. South Korea’s most important export of computer chips fell nearly 45% last month from a year earlier, as demand slowed and chip prices fell, South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said. The business data was released after South Korean chip giant Samsung Electronics posted a 70% drop in profit in the latest quarter amid what it described as a “severely” damaged business environment for semiconductors and consumer electronics products. Chipmaking is highly cyclical, and the technology industry has gone from a severe shortage to a glut for many computer chips in many industries, including automotive. Samsung said chip prices fell sharply due to weakened demand as customers adjusted their inventories in light of “deep uncertainties” in the global economy. In the year It reported a loss of 1.7 trillion won ($1.4 billion), its first quarterly deficit since 2012. He announced the decline, prioritizing markets with high growth potential. The company said in a statement. SK Hynix announced in October that it plans to more than halve its investment in 2023 from 19 trillion won ($15 billion) in 2022. According to the Ministry of Commerce, the country’s exports decreased by 17 percent in January compared to a year ago. The country, which relies on imports for most of its energy supplies, spent nearly $16 billion on oil, gas and coal purchases last month to offset higher shipments of semiconductors. That was more than the $10 billion average the country spent on importing these goods in January over the past 10 years, said top trade official Moon Dong Min. The global economy is sluggish due to major economic policies. And Russia has extended its war on Ukraine, Moon said. The war has left countries struggling with high prices and slow growth, causing similar damage to other economies that depend on industrial exports, including China, Japan and Germany. Moon said the global semiconductor market will slow down next time. A few months before recovery in the latter half of the year, Moon said.
