South Korea's energy imports decline in Q3

The value of energy imported by South Korea shrank 5.7 percent on-year during the third quarter due in part to a drop in the purchase of crude oil and coal, customs data showed Thursday. According to the data by the Korea Customs Service, South Korea imported a total of 72.85 million tons of energy during the July-September period, down 2.7 percent from a year earlier. The amount is valued at US$35.30 billion, which is also down 5.7 percent from the $37.44 billion tallied during the same period a year earlier. The decline stemmed from a decrease in the purchase of crude oil and coal, with imports estimated at $24.47 billion and $3.28 billion, respectively, down 5.3 percent and 16.5 percent from a year earlier. During the same period, the value of gas imports also dropped 1.6 percent on-year to $7.56 billion, the data showed. In terms of the total energy imported, coal accounted for 45 percent, followed by crude oil and gas with 42 percent and 13 percent, respectively, according to the data. Saudi Arabia is the country from which South Korea imported the largest amount of crude oil. South Korea imported the largest amounts of coal and gas from Australia and Qatar, the data showed.