Korean export growth hits 11-month high in Jan.

Korea’s exports increased 11.8 percent in January year-on-year for their first double-digit growth in 11 months, the Knowledge Economy Ministry said Friday.

Expecting export recovery is deemed too early, however, as the price competitiveness of Korean products is weakening in the global foreign exchange market amid the recent ascent of Latin America.

According to ministry data on the exports and imports of domestic companies, overseas shipments of goods hit 460.9 billion U.S. dollars in January. Imports reached 45.21 billion dollars, up 3.9 percent from the same month last year. The trade surplus for January was also 874 million dollars.

The ministry attributed the strong showing to brisk sales of Korean goods in line with global economic recovery.

Leading the export surge were wireless communication devices (32.8 percent), cars (24.3 percent), petrochemicals (17.8 percent) and LCD panels (16.4 percent). On the other hand, steel suffered an 8-percent drop in shipments and those of shipbuilding plummeted nearly 20 percent from a year earlier.

A ministry official said January`s strong performance was partially because of the lackluster showing one year ago, and two more working in last month as the Lunar New Year’s Day holidays will fall in February this year. “We will see if exports are recovering in earnest after seeing February exports,” he said.

jmpark@donga.com