More discouraging news for the already struggling local economy... as exports remained sluggish last month.<br />And experts expect the situation to not improve any time soon amid Japan's latest export controls.<br />Kim Da-mi has more.<br />South Korea's exports fell in July for the eighth-consecutive month.<br />The trade ministry said on Thursday that the country's outbound shipments tumbled eleven percent on-year last month.<br />Exports were tallied at around 46-billion U.S. dollars,... down from the 52 billion seen a year earlier.<br />The ministry attributed the fall... to slumping semiconductor prices as well as the U.S.-China trade war.<br />South Korea's chip exports plummeted 28 percent on-year in July,... a wider drop compared to the month of June.<br />Imports fell 2-point-7 percent on-year last month to around 44 billion dollars.<br />Japan's export curbs on three key materials vital for semiconductor and display production... kept inbound shipments on a downward trajectory.<br />Experts note that Japan's expanded export curbs could further weigh on South Korea's already slumping trade volume.<br />Automobile and bio-health exports were the lone bright spots,... increasing 22 percent and 10 percent respectively.<br />In fact, automobile exports rose for the fourth-straight month,... a winning streak that hasn't been seen since 2017.<br />By country, exports to China fell over 16 percent on-year in July, with those to the U.S. inching down zero-point-7 percent.<br />KIM Da-mi, Arirang News.<br />
