SEOUL– The portion of South Korean exports settled using the country’s currency declined for the fourth straight year in 2021 due to sluggish shipments of chemicals and auto parts, central bank data showed Friday.
The use of the won accounted for 2.4 percent of all export settlements last year, compared with 2.5 percent the previous year, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).
It marked the fourth consecutive year of decline since 2017 when the portion hit 3 percent.
South Korea’s exports remained robust last year, but the use of the Korean currency for export settlements fell as exports of chemicals and autos were tepid amid the pandemic, according to the BOK.
The U.S. dollar was the dominant currency used to settle South Korean exports last year, taking up 83.9 percent of overall export settlements, up from 83.6 percent in 2020.
The rise was mainly attributable to brisk exports of chips and petrochemical products whose settlements are usually made with the dollar.
The use of the Chinese yuan made up a record high of 2 percent of the total export settlements.
Meanwhile, the share of won-based import settlements stood at 6.5 percent last year, down 0.5 percentage point from the previous year. The use of the U.S. dollar took up 80.1 percent, up 2 percentage points from a year ago amid surging energy costs, according to the BOK.
Source: Yonhap News Agency