S. Korea’s early august exports up 17%, driven by semiconductors

[Photo by Yonhap]

South Korea’s exports in early August surged by 17 percent, supported by strong performance in the semiconductor sector. On a monthly basis, the country’s exports have increased for 10 consecutive months from October last year to last month. Exports to China continued their upward trend, and rising global oil prices led to an over 80 percent increase in crude oil imports.

According to the Korea Customs Service (KCS) on Monday, the country’s exports from August 1 to 10 amounted to $15.47 billion, up 16.7 percent versus a year ago. When considering the number of working days, the average daily export value jumped by 24.0 percent, despite there being 0.5 fewer working days (8.0 days) compared to last year.

By category, semiconductor exports—a key export item—rose by 42.1 percent. Semiconductor exports have shown double-digit growth on a monthly basis since turning positive in November last year. Other notable increases were seen in petroleum products (up 5.5 percent), passenger cars (up 63.9 percent), and ships (up 253.0 percent).

By country, exports to China grew by 10.7 percent, the United States by 27.7 percent, and Vietnam by 3.6 percent. South Korea’s exports to China reached $3.19 billion, surpassing the $2.45 billion exported to the U.S.

From August 1 to 10, imports amounted to $18.47 billion, up 13.4 percent from the previous year. The higher international oil prices resulted in an 83.5 percent surge in crude oil imports, the largest increase for the first ten days of a month since July 2022 (93.8 percent). Imports of semiconductors (up 14.7 percent) and gas (up 62.8 percent) also increased. Conversely, imports of petroleum products (down 1.5 percent), coal (down 24.9 percent), and passenger cars (down 25.2 percent) declined.

By country, imports from China grew by 5.0 percent, the United States by 16.0 percent, and Japan by 17.2 percent.

The trade balance for the period showed a deficit of $2.93 billion, compared to a deficit of $1.91 billion in the same period last month. But the monthly trade balance remained in surplus for the past 14 months, up until last month.