South Korea | Rising trade momentum bodes well for growth
South Korea’s trade has remained resilient despite rising global Covid cases, with export and import momentum gaining further traction. We expect exports will be supported by strong imports from advanced economies, memory chip demand, and seasonal demand for certain key items, which will help cushion near-term headwinds from softer regional demand and Covid-related supply disruptions. Rising vaccination rates could allow domestic restrictions to ease in Q4, which will also provide impetus for import growth.
What you will learn:
- Sustained gains were seen across major export items, such as semiconductors, automobiles, and petroleum products.
- We expect strong import demand from advanced economies will continue to underpin South Korean exports through the rest of the year, as restrictions there have eased, and consumer confidence is holding up.
- Semiconductor exports will also remain firm, driven mainly by sustained demand for memory chips to be used in servers, PCs, and mobiles.
Tags:
Related Services

Post
BoK’s monetary policy to tighten even as hiking cycle ends
Even without rate hikes, central banks' monetary policies can effectively tighten if the nominal neutral rate falls below the policy rate. We expect this will be the case for the Bank of Korea this year, as the gap between the policy rate and the nominal neutral rate widens.
Find Out More
Post
China: Emerging green shoots in Spring, but not out of the woods
We now incorporate a faster recovery from the post-Covid exit wave and raise our 2023 full-year GDP growth forecast to 4.5% (from 4.2% previously).
Find Out More