Asia-Pacific
South Korea
South Korea's inflation and growth, jobs, bond yields, the won, US goods trade with South Korea, cargo through its ports and the IMF's figures, each sourced and dated.
Figures checked . Each one names its source and the period it covers.
The latest figures
InflationSeptember 2026
2.9%
on a year earlier
One source: no second publisher of this figure is available
Economic growthQ2 2026
3.8%
real GDP, % on a year earlier
OECD · 106 days since the period ended
One source: no second publisher of this figure is available
UnemploymentAugust 2026
2.7%
of the labour force
OECD · 44 days since the period ended
One source: no second publisher of this figure is available
10-year government bond yieldAugust 2026
4.29%
OECD via FRED · 44 days since the period ended
One source: no second publisher of this figure is available
Won per US dollar13 October 2026
1,341.45
KRW per USD
Federal Reserve via FRED · latest from European Central Bank
Close: European Central Bank has 1,341.49 for 9 October 2026, against 1,342.13
Goods trade with the United States
US imports from South Korea12 months
$149.8bn
+16.9% on the previous 12 months
US exports to South Korea12 months
$78.8bn
+18.5% on the previous 12 months
US tariff rate on South Korea12 months
9.1%
of the value of goods, paid in duty. By product and month →
US goods balance12 months
−$71.0bn
The US buys more from South Korea than it sells there
September 2025 to August 2026, US$, not seasonally adjusted. Source: US Census Bureau via FRED (IMPKR, EXPKR). These are the US's own customs records, so they measure trade from the American side.
Cargo through its ports
Imports by sea30 days
+28.9%
on the same 30 days a year earlier
Exports by sea30 days
+12.1%
on the same 30 days a year earlier
Port calls30 days
+17.2%
on the same 30 days a year earlier
30 days to 2 October 2026. AIS-based estimates of cargo through the economy's ports; percentage changes only, per PortWatch's terms. Source: IMF PortWatch, https://portwatch.imf.org.
The IMF's figures and projections
| IMF World Economic Outlook | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Real GDP growth, % | 1.1 | 3.3 | 2.8 |
| Inflation, annual average % | 2.1 | 2.7 | 2.3 |
Source: IMF DataMapper, World Economic Outlook, as published when these figures were checked. A year is marked as the IMF's projection until the World Bank publishes an actual figure for it. TradeTurbulence makes no forecasts of its own here.
How these figures are checked
Every figure is fetched from the publisher named under it, once a day. Where a second publisher reports the same figure for the same period, the two are compared: "Matches" means they agree to the figure shown; "Close" means they differ by a little more than rounding, and shows the second value; "Sources differ" shows both values and we do not choose between them. Where the second publisher has not yet reached the latest period, the two are compared on the latest period both publish, and the figure is marked "Not yet checked". Annual figures carry their year, because they are a year or more behind.