South Korea’s exports rebound for first time in 13 months

Sejong, Nov. 1 (BNA): 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 compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

 

The country also logged a trade surplus of $1.64 billion in October, according to Yonhap News Agency.

 

Imports fell 9.7 percent on-year to $53.4 billion last month.

 

Exports of automobiles moved up 19.8 percent over the period to $5.88 billion last month.

 

Exports of petroleum products also increased 18 percent to $5.26 billion, while those of petrochemical goods shed 3.2 percent to $3.61 billion.

 

Other major winners include ships, with their exports more than doubling on-year in October to reach $2.83 billion.

 

Outbound shipments of semiconductors decreased 3.1 percent to $8.94 billion. Nevertheless, the decline represents the most modest drop since August 2022.

 

 

W.M