SEOUL - South Korean exports and imports suffered a precipitous decline in the first 10 days of May, underlining a bleak outlook for Asia's fourth largest economy and international trade as the coronavirus crisis slammed global demand.
By categories, overseas sales of semiconductors dropped 17.8 per cent, while that for mobile communication devices and petrochemical products contracted sharply by 35.9 per cent and 75.6 per cent, respectively. The export-reliant economy stumbled into its biggest contraction since 2008 in the first quarter even as the Bank of Korea slashed interest rates by 50 basis points to a fresh low of 0.75 per cent in March, as self-isolation measures hit consumption and global trade slumped.
Data released last week for China, the world's biggest exporter, showed a rebound in shipments but imports marked the biggest contraction since early 2016 - an outcome that backed expectations for a period of frail trade.