Seoul, South Korea's exports moved up on-year for the first time in 13 months in October, driven by robust automobile shipments, along with signs of improvement in the chip sector, data showed Wednesday.
Outbound shipments moved up 5.1 percent on-year to US$55 billion last month, according to the data showed Wednesday compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
The country also logged a trade surplus of $1.64 billion in October, the fifth straight gain. Imports fell 9.7 percent on-year to $53.4 billion last month, the data also showed.
Exports have posted growth while maintaining a trade surplus despite challenging external conditions, including high borrowing costs, the US-China tension, and high oil prices, South Korea's (Yonhap) News Agency quoted Industry Minister Bang Moon-kyu as saying.
"We will spare no effort to have exports maintain the upward momentum through the end of this year," he added.
Bang said the government will continue to make efforts to prevent other potential risks, including China's export control of graphite, from giving adverse impacts on South Korea's outbound shipments.
Exports had been posting an on-year decrease since October 2022 through September amid aggressive monetary tightening by the United States and other major economies to bring inflation under control and a global economic slowdown.
Source: Qatar News Agency