Seoul: The Republic of Korea's exports increased by 7.6 percent year-on-year in the first 20 days of August, fueled by robust demand for semiconductors and automobiles, as per recent data.
According to Emirates News Agency, outbound shipments reached US$35.5 billion from August 1 to August 20, compared to US$33 billion recorded during the same period last year, based on data from the Korea Customs Service. The daily average volume of exports also showed a 7.6 percent increase on a year-on-year basis. The number of working days within this period remained steady at 14.5, unchanged from the previous year.
Imports saw a slight rise of 0.4 percent year-on-year to $34.7 billion during the same period, resulting in a trade surplus of $800 million, according to Yonhap News Agency. Exports of semiconductors witnessed a significant rise of 29.5 percent from a year earlier, reaching $8.71 billion. Chip exports constituted 24.5 percent of the country's total exports over the cited period, marking an increase of 4.2 percentage points from the same period last year.
Automobile exports climbed 21.7 percent year-on-year to $2.77 billion, while shipments of vessels surged 28.9 percent to $2.3 billion.