SEOUL - South Korean exports in March fell 1.4 percent from a year ago, missing a consensus forecast for a small gain and adding to questions about the strength of a global recovery even with a boost to shipments in the first month of a landmark free trade pact with the United States. SEOUL - South Korean exports in March fell 1.4 percent from a year ago, missing a consensus forecast for a small gain and adding to questions about the strength of a global recovery even with a boost to shipments in the first month of a landmark free trade pact with the United States. Shipments to the United States jumped nearly 28 percent thanks to the free trade agreement, but weak sales to the other big markets such as China and the European Union clouded prospects, data published on Sunday showed. The median forecast from a Reuters survey of 14 economists was for exports to expand by 0.7 per cent in March from a year earlier. Forecasts ranged from a fall of 5.1 percent to a rise of 8.3 per cent. "Exports will remain weak at least through the second quarter, although there won't be a collapsing pattern in exports because we see some signs of bottoming in the Chinese economy and in the euro-zone crisis," said Lee Sang-jae, economist at Hyundai Securities. Exports reached $47.36 billion in March while imports fell 1.2 percent to $45.03 billion, producing a surplus of $2.33 billion. The trade balance had swung to a surplus of $1.52 billion in February from a $2.23 billion deficit in January. Exports to China, South Korea's biggest market taking in about one-quarter of shipments, rose just 0.7 per cent in March over a year ago while exports to the European Union plunged 20.3 per cent, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said. Shipments to the United States jumped 27.9 per cent as a free trade agreement removed import tariffs on many items from the middle of March when it took effect. The EU and the US each buy about 10 percent of South Korea's exports. Lee said the weak overall exports despite a jump in sales to the US showed the broad global demand remained depressed.
