Containers for exports and imports are stacked at a pier in Korea's largest port city of Busan on Oct. 11 In this file photo. Korea's exports slipped 20.2 percent year-on-year in the first 10 days of October mainly due to sluggish overseas sales of semiconductors, according to data from the Korea Customs Service. Yonhap

Korea has posted a new record high in annual exports for this year amid worsening market conditions caused by global inflation and hawkish monetary policy in major countries, government data showed Saturday.

Korea's cumulative exports exceeded the previous year's record high of US$644.4 billion as of 7 a.m., according to the data from the industry ministry.

The annual exports recorded until early in the day was up 6.8 percent from the same period a year earlier.

The ministry expects the figure could rise to as high as $680 billion by the end of the year.

The new record has been set amid worries that exports, a major growth engine for Korea, are losing steam in the face of growing worries over a global economic recession.

China's strict virus curbs have also been cited as a heavy drag on the export-driven economy as access to one of the world's largest markets has been hampered by lockdowns in major cities.

Korea's exports shrank 5.7 percent year-on-year in October, the first contraction downfall in two years. Outbound shipments also dropped 14 percent November, according to earlier government data.

This is the first time that exports have contracted for two straight months since early 2020, when the coronavirus was spreading rapidly. (Yonhap)