South Korean officials and businesspeople, however, complained that the already rapid appreciation of the won was slowing economic growth and threatening exports.

The Asian economic crisis, which began in July 1997, has slowed exports, causing a cascade of layoffs.

The theory is that the bad weather could have slowed exports by causing delays in the delivery of goods from factories to ports or to the Canadian border.

To the extent that this slows exports and further boosts imports, the gap will become even tougher to close.

A rising dollar, they say, would slow exports and attract a flood of new imports.

They also worry that the Asian crisis will slow American exports and growth, which would have ripple effects on them.

Big oil-exporting countries have also tightened supplies in recent weeks, some analysts say, even as political turmoil has slowed exports from Nigeria, Venezuela and Iraq.

The powerful ministry had also sharply lowered the value of shipments that require an export license, causing a backlog that slowed exports.

The Japanese economy grew at the fastest pace in a year in the first quarter as a rebound in consumer spending more than offset slowing exports.

Industrial production in March unexpectedly fell 0.2 percent compared with the previous month as the war in Iraq slowed exports.