Exports of South Korea, China and Japan all declined in December due to a global economic slowdown and the ongoing U.S.-China trade dispute.

According to the World Trade Organization, South Korea's outbound shipments in the last month of 2018 dropped one-point-three percent on-year to total 48-point-four billion U.S. dollars.

The trade ministry in Seoul also said the country's exports for January this year totaled 46-point-four billion dollars, down five-point-eight percent compared to a year earlier. It marks the first time the country's exports contracted for two straight months since September and October 2016.

China's exports totaled 221 billion dollars in December, dropping four-point-four percent from a year earlier.

Japan's outbound shipments also decreased three-point-two percent in December, logging a second consecutive month of decline.