South Korea’s petrochemical exports surge by 94.9% in May

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–South Korea’s petrochemical exports rose by 94.9% year on year in May to $4.5bn, supporting the overall surge in shipments abroad, official data showed on Tuesday.

The country’s overall exports rose by 45.6% year on year in May to $50.7bn while imports were up by 37.9% to $47.8bn, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) said in a statement.

The country’s exports of automobiles rose by 93.7% to $3.49bn in May.

South Korea’s overall exports to China rose by 22.7% year on year while shipments to the US surged by 62.8%.

South Korea’s central bank last week revised its annual growth projection for 2021 to 4% from a previous forecast of 3% made in February on the back of a recovery in exports.

Photo: A container port at Busan, South Korea (Ryu Seung-Il/ZUMA Wire/Shutterstock)