S.Korea's exports tumble 13.8 pct in December

South Korea's exports tumbled 13.8 percent in December from a year earlier due to soft demand for ships and lower prices of oil products and chips, a government report showed Friday.

Exports, which account for about half of the economy, came in at 42.6 billion U.S. dollars, down 13.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

Imports declined at a faster pace of 19.2 percent in December from a year earlier to reach 35.5 billion U.S. dollars.

Helped by faster fall in imports than exports, trade surplus was 7.2 billion dollars in December, keeping a surplus trend for 47 months in a row.

Ship exports plunged 35.1 percent, and those for oil products and semiconductors dropped 25.6 percent and 17.1 percent due to lower product prices.

Shipments of consumer electronics, cars, textiles and general machinery declined, but cosmetics exports increased 25.3 percent. Exports of telecommunication devices, including smartphones, gained 7.6 percent.

By region, exports to the United States and the European Union slumped 4.7 percent and 7.6 percent, and those to China, South Korea's largest trading partner, tumbled 16.7 percent.

Exports to Vietnam rose 5.2 percent, but those to Japan and the Middle East posted a double-digit reduction.

Raw material imports plunged 27.6 percent on lower crude oil prices, and imports of capital and consumer goods slipped 17.1 percent and 9 percent respectively. Enditem