South Korea posted a merchandise trade deficit of $6.7 billion in October, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said on Tuesday.
The missed expectations for a shortfall of $3.94 billion following the downwardly revised $3.78 billion deficit in September (originally -$3.70 billion).
Exports dropped 5.7 percent on year, also shy of forecasts for a decline of 3.0 percent following the downwardly revised 2.7 percent increase in the previous month (originally 2.8 percent).
Imports jumped an annual 9.9 percent versus expectations for an increase of 6.9 percent following the 18.6 percent spike a month earlier.
