https://apnews.com/c23d34321957ff1498d8db8095051bc3

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea logged its biggest monthly trade deficit ever, at $12.7 billion in January, as exports of computer chips and other high-tech items sank and costs for importing oil and gas surged, the trade ministry said Wednesday.

The growing shortfall underscored how Russia’s war on Ukraine is straining the global economy, keeping prices for key resources like crude oil and nickel high even after they fell back from spikes in 2022.