Posted October. 01, 2000 21:32,
Monthly export earnings reached a peak in September. The figure exceeded the monthly gains of last year for the first time. Tentative statistics (based on customs clearance) on exports and imports for September published by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy showed that exports rose to $15.33 billion or 28.1 percent over the same month last year. This exceeded the previous monthly high of $15.27 billion in June. Imports increased 31.6 percent in September from the same period last year to $13.37 billion.
The trade balance in September registered $2 billion in the black-- an increase of $160 million over the $1.84 billion posted in September last year. It was the first time the monthly trade surplus improved over last year. The substantial gains in earnings in September in spite of soaring oil prices brought the aggregate surplus up to $8.42 billion, suggesting that the $10 billion trade surplus target for the year is within reach. The sharp rise in trade earnings is attributed to the steady level of the long-term pricing of the DRAM chip at $8 despite a decline in the chip's spot market prices, leading to record high monthly exports of $2.6 billion. Overseas sales of computers and cars also were up more than 30 percent over the previous year. Higher export prices of petrochemical products as a result of rising oil prices and the stable exchange rate have been partly responsible for the boost. Climbing oil import prices dampened imports other than oil, which rose $420 million in August, resulting in the reduction of imports by $540 million from August. The growth of imports in the first quarter of the year (January-March) showed a high rate of 45-50 percent over the same period of last year but began stalling in and after June, dropping 3.5 percentage points in September to record the smallest difference from the rate of exports.