S.Korea revised Jan exports down record 33.8 pct

SEOUL, Feb 16 (Reuters) - South Korean exports in January performed worse than initially estimated as revised figures from the customs agency showed on Monday overseas shipments for the month dropped a record 33.8 percent from a year earlier. 


That was worse than a provisional 32.8 percent annual drop reported in provisional figures released on Feb. 2 by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy and follows a 17.9 percent annual fall in December last year. 


Imports for January were revised to 31.9 percent less than a year earlier from a provisional 32.1 percent decline, the Korea Customs Service data showed. 


Exports to China, South Korea's biggest market, fell a record 38.6 percent in January from a year earlier. Exports to the United States dropped 27.8 percent over a year before, marking the sharpest annual loss since December 2001. 


The revised export and import figures produced a trade deficit of $3.36 billion, bigger than a provisional $2.97 billion shortfall reported earlier, the data showed. 


The data comes after the central bank slashed interest rates by 50 basis points to a record-low 2.0 percent on Thursday last week, its sixth rate cut in four months aimed at pulling Asia's fourth-largest economy away from a looming recession.