Citibank: South Korea's export rise may gradually slow down in the coming quarters

On September 2nd, Jin-Wook Kim and Jiuk Choi, economists at Citigroup, wrote in a report that South Korea's exports may gradually slow down in the coming quarters. They believe that the year-on-year export growth rate in the third quarter of 2024 may slow to around 8%, and to around 5%-6% in the fourth quarter of 2024 and the first quarter of 2025, while it may be 10% in the second quarter of 2024. They said that the high base in the same period last year and the expected slowdown in the rise of semiconductor prices may lead to an overall slowdown in export rise. They expect that by 2025, the average selling prices of NAND and DRAM chips will rise by 30% and 14% respectively, far lower than this year's over 60%.