Bank of Korea Releases "2024 Export and Import by Settlement Currency (Final)"
Yen Export Share Drops to 2.0%, Lowest Since Inclusion
Yuan Import Share Hits Record High at 3.1%
Last year, the proportion of the US dollar in export settlement currencies increased by 1.4 percentage points from the previous year to 84.5%. This was due to an increase in US dollar settlement exports centered on semiconductors and ships.
According to the "2024 Export and Import by Settlement Currency (Final)" released by the Bank of Korea on the 14th, the export share by settlement currency last year was recorded as follows: US dollar (84.5%), euro (6.0%), Korean won (2.7%), Japanese yen (2.0%), and Chinese yuan (1.5%). The top five currencies accounted for 96.7% of total exports.
The share of US dollar settlements increased by 1.4 percentage points compared to the previous year. Regarding the reason for the increase in the share of US dollar export settlements, Kim Seong-jun, head of the International Balance of Payments Team at the Bank of Korea’s Economic Statistics Department 1, said, "The increase is due to a 10.0% rise in US dollar settlement exports centered on semiconductors (43.1%), computer peripherals (81.6%), and ships (23.3%), which have a high proportion of US dollar settlements." Last year, the US dollar settlement export shares were 98.5% for semiconductors, 93.7% for computer peripherals, and 99.2% for ships.
On the other hand, the euro and yen shares decreased by 0.8 percentage points and 0.3 percentage points, respectively. The decline in the euro export share was due to a 3.9% decrease in euro settlement exports, mainly in passenger cars (-21.2%) and machinery and precision instruments (-4.3%).
The share of yen in exports fell to the lowest level since its inclusion in 1992. This was due to a 5.1% decrease in yen settlement exports, mainly in machinery and precision instruments (-17.8%) and steel products (-6.0%). In the longer term, the reduction in trade volume with Japan itself explains the decline in the yen share. Exports to Japan decreased from a peak of $39.68 billion in 2011 to $29.61 billion last year.
The share of Korean won in exports declined as the export growth rate of passenger cars, which have a relatively high won settlement share, was 6.0%, below the overall export growth rate of 8.1%, and exports of machinery and precision instruments (-14.7%) also decreased. The share of Chinese yuan in exports decreased due to a 6.4% decline in yuan settlement exports, mainly in machinery and precision instruments (-25.8%) and semiconductors (-23.1%).
Last year, the import share by settlement currency was as follows: US dollar (80.3%), Korean won (6.3%), euro (5.7%), Japanese yen (3.7%), and Chinese yuan (3.1%). The top five currencies accounted for 99.2% of total imports. The share of yuan settlements increased by 0.7 percentage points from the previous year, while the shares of won and US dollar settlements decreased by 0.3 percentage points and 0.2 percentage points, respectively.
The share of yuan in imports increased for six consecutive years, reaching a record high. This was due to a 27.9% increase in yuan settlement imports, mainly in semiconductors (2084.5%), steel products (39.2%), and automobile parts (22.3%). Kim explained, "Imports related to semiconductors, which showed strong export performance last year, increased significantly."
On the other hand, the share of US dollar imports decreased due to a 2.0% decline in US dollar settlement imports, mainly in raw materials, which are usually settled in US dollars (-6.7%).
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