Exports of oil products up 5.5% in 8 months

Korean exports of oil products rose moderately in the first eight months of this year from a year earlier thanks to their sharp competitive edge in the international oil products market, a trade association said Thursday.

According to the Korea Petroleum Association (KPA), oil exports came to $36.2 billion in the January-August period, up 5.5 percent from the same period last year.

The association expects exports of oil products to reach $54 billion for the whole of 2012, outpacing a record high of $51.6 billion last year, if the current trend keeps up.

A rise in the shipments of oil products to Asia and Europe and high oil prices contributed to the growth in exports of oil products during the period, the association said.

The country's exports of oil products were on the increase between 2006 and 2008, logging $20.4 billion in 2006, $24 billion in 2007 and $37.6 billion in 2008. But the global financial crisis sparked off in the U.S. drove the country's oil products exports down to $23 billion in 2009.

In the eight-month period, refined oil products were South Korea's top export item, surpassing semiconductor exports worth $32.4 billion, $32 billion in machinery exports and $31.2 billion in car exports.

"Oil products became the top-selling export item on the back of its strong global competition," the KPA said.(Yonhap)