Won-based export settlements down for 5th year in 2022

▲ This file photo, taken April 1, 2022, shows stacks of containers at a port in South Korea's southeastern city of Busan. (Yonhap)

won-export settlements

Won-based export settlements down for 5th year in 2022

SEOUL, April 20 (Yonhap) -- The proportion of South Korean exports settled using the country's currency declined for the fifth straight year in 2022, central bank data showed Thursday.

The use of the won accounted for 2.3 percent of all export settlements last year, compared with 2.4 percent the previous year, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).

It marked the fifth consecutive year of decline since 2017, when the proportion hit 3 percent.

South Korea's exports remained robust last year, reaching a record high of US$683.9 billion, up 6.1 percent from a year earlier.

But exports of semiconductor-related facilities to China slumped last year, causing demand for won-based settlements to decline, according to the central bank.

The U.S. dollar was the dominant currency used to settle South Korean exports last year, taking up 85 percent of overall export settlements, up from 83.9 percent in 2021.

The rise came as exports of chemicals and autos are usually settled in the U.S. dollar, the BOK said.

The use of the Chinese yuan made up 1.6 percent of total export settlements last year, down from a record high of 2 percent the previous year.

Meanwhile, the share of won-based import settlements stood at 6.1 percent last year, down 0.4 percentage point from the previous year. The use of the U.S. dollar took up 82.8 percent of the total, up from 80.1 percent a year ago, according to the BOK.

(END)

(C) Yonhap News Agency. All Rights Reserved