Big trade surplus offset by weak outlook

Article Date	11-01-2010 17:18	Scrap Date	11-01-2010 20:18
Title	Big trade surplus offset by weak outlook
Topic	Korea’s trade surplus hit a new monthly high last month as exports expanded at a much faster pace than imports on the back of strong performance of semiconductors and automobiles, a government report showed Monday.
Text	By Kim Jae-won   Korea’s trade surplus hit a new monthly high last month as exports expanded at a much faster pace than imports on the back of strong performance of semiconductors and automobiles, a government report showed Monday.   However, *HSBC’s purchasing managers’ index, better known as *PMI, said that new orders are dwindling, manufacturing productivity slipping and employment’s increase rate slowing, meaning that Korea Inc.’s recovery may be *hitting snags.   The nation’s trade surplus reached a record $6.91 billion in October, up 52.5 percent from $4.53 billion recorded the previous month, according to the report by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy. The previous monthly record was $6.67 billion set in June.   Exports led the remarkable record spiking 29.9 percent from a year earlier to a new monthly high of $44.12 billion, while imports rose by 22.4 percent year on year to $37.21 billion.   The country’s trade balance has *stayed in the black for nine *consecutive months. The trade surplus for the first 10 months of the year totaled $35.97 billion.   "The trade surplus of October is a new monthly record and the country's annual trade surplus is also expected to surpass last year's $40.4 billion, a record," Kim Kyung-shik, head of trade and investment team of the ministry, said at a *briefing for the press.   The ministry said exports went up from the previous month as shipments of semiconductors, automobiles and parts, information technology-related products and mobile communication devices remained brisk. *Outbound shipments of auto parts jumped 50.1 percent from a year before with exports of mobile communication devices growing 1.5 percent on strong overseas demand for new smartphones, marking the first positive growth in the year.   However, HSBC’s PMI, an indicator of the economic health of the manufacturing sector, pointed to an ongoing *deterioration in business sentiment.   The PMI of the fourth largest economy in Asia fell to 46.7 last month, down 2.1 from the previous month. It was the second month in a row that Korea’s PMI has *dipped below a neutral 50. Five factors ― new orders, supplier deliveries, employment increase rate, inventory and output ― are used in the PMI indicator. Any number above 50 means a brighter outlook than below.   HSBC said despite the nation’s *robust growth in exports, Korean companies are facing evident margin pressures. “According to HSBC’s PMI, input prices *edged up again while output prices fell below 50 for the first time during 2010,” said Kim Song-yi, an economist of HSBC’s Hong Kong office at a report.   Kim said Korea faces danger of inflation problem as companies are tempted to transfer their costs to the price of products. “Input prices remain high due to rising international commodity prices and wages. At some point, firms may seek to pass on higher input costs, which could present a major inflation problem for the Bank of Korea,” she said.
My Opinion	I'm not that good at economics, but from this article, I understand Korean economic condition is on average looking up. Compared to last some months, Korea goes into the black. Despite global economic depression, Korea copes with the situation in its way. I hope that not only Korea, but other countries put forth their strength.
Vocabulary	*HSBC : 홍콩·상하이 은행 (Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation) *PMI : 구매자 관리 지수 (Purchasing Managers’ Index) *hit a snag : 장애에 부딪치다 *stay in the black : 흑자를 유지하다 *consecutive : a. 연속적인 *briefing : n. 상황 설명 *outbound : a. 외국행의 *deterioration : n. 퇴보 *dip below : 밑으로 떨어지다 *robust : a. 강건한 *edge up : 차츰 다가서다
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