Korea trade (June 2017):Ending 1H on a weak note

Export growth disappointed in June, rising 13.9% y-o-y (HSBC: 19.0%, BBG:16.9%) after 13.3% in May. The downside surprise was mainly due to the volatilityin vessel deliveries, where we had forecasted a very sharp rise based on the 20-day results. However, even outside of vessels, the momentum in exports lost somesteam in June, which not only reflects global commodity price declines but alsosome moderation in volume growth. Still, semiconductors were again an exceptionand remained strong in June. All said, export growth seems to have peaked earlierthis year, while the recovery still remains heavily focused in semiconductors.