SEOUL: South Korea’s exports have expanded in the first 20 days of this month, extending gains for the third month in a row much thanks to brisk semiconductor shipment and recovery in oil demand. According to data from the Korea Customs Service Tuesday, exports came to $27.7 billion for the February 1 – 20 period, up 26.2 percent from the same period last year.
Korean exports have been in its longest losing streak until rebound in memory chips helped to reverse the trend in November. Exports rose 2.5 percent on year in November, 6.4 percent in December and 11.2 percent in January. By item, exports of semiconductors rose 51.5 percent on year, petroleum products 64.5 percent and automobiles 30.4 percent. Outbound shipments of ships fell 1.8 percent and those of wireless devices 19.5 percent. More working days and base effect from poor performance last year also helped the on-year performance.
Considering working days, a daily volume of exports so far this year averaged $1.79 billion, up 9.9 percent from a year ago. By country, exports to China rose 36.7 percent on year, followed by Vietnam 34.5 percent, the European Union 31.7 percent, Japan 29.8 percent and the U.S. 4.7 percent. Over the same period, imports soared 26 percent to $25.5 billion, the data showed. Trade surplus reached $2.2 billion.
