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