Exports in Korea rise by 23.5% during the first 20 days of February
SEOUL, 23 February, 2017 (WAM) – The Republic of Korea’s exports rose by 23.5% compared to last year during the first 20 days of this February, driven by strong demand for semiconductors, according to data issued by the Korean Customs Service on Monday.
The Korean Yonhap News Agency quoted the data as saying that the value of exports amounted to 43.5 billion US dollars during the period from February 1 to 20, compared to 35.2 billion US dollars during the same period last year. This number represents its highest level during this period, as semiconductor exports more than doubled in light of the boom driven by the increasing demand for artificial intelligence.
The data added that imports increased by 11.7% year-on-year to reach US$38.6 billion during the same period, resulting in a trade surplus of US$4.9 billion.
The average daily export volume increased by 47.3% year on year, while the number of working days during the period decreased by two and a half days compared to the previous year, to 13 days.
According to the data, semiconductor exports increased by 134.1% to reach $15.1 billion, while electronic chip exports constituted 34.7% of the country’s total exports during the aforementioned period, an increase of 16.4 percentage points over the same period last year.
Exports of petroleum products increased by 10.5% year-on-year to reach $2.9 billion, while ship exports increased by 22.7% to reach $1.3 billion. In contrast, automobile exports decreased by 26.6% year-on-year to reach $2.6 billion.
In January, exports grew 33.9% from a year earlier to reach US$65.85 billion, thanks to strong demand for semiconductors, according to the data.
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