SEOUL, Oct 2 (ABC): South Korea logged trade deficit for the sixth consecutive month in September owing to faster growth in import than export, government data showed Saturday. Trade deficit amounted to 3.77 billion U.S. dollars in September, staying in red for six months since April, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Export added 2.8 percent from a year earlier to 57.46 billion dollars in September, while import surged 18.6 percent to 61.23 billion dollars.
The rapid import increase was driven by soaring energy prices amid the continued geopolitical risks in Europe. Import of the country’s three energy sources, including crude oil, natural gas and coal, came to 17.96 billion dollars in September, up 81.2 percent from a year earlier.
