Korea’s exports up 28% in first 10 days of Aug.
[THE INVESTOR] Korea’s exports shot up 28.2 percent in the first 10 days of this month from a year earlier, customs data showed on Aug. 11.
Total outbound shipments reached US$12.4 billion from Aug. 1-10, according to numbers compiled by the Korea Customs Service.
The sharp increase was led by a 52.9 percent on-year surge in exports of semiconductors and a 76.6 percent gain in petrochemical goods.
By country, exports to China rose 19.7 percent over the 10-day period from a year earlier despite Beijing’s retaliatory moves against Seoul’s plan to deploy a US missile defense system on its soil.
Shipments to Japan jumped 15.8 percent, and those to Vietnam vaulted 41.7 percent on-year.
Exports to the United States also gained 45.8 percent over the cited period.
Meanwhile, imports also advanced 14.5 percent on-year to US$14 billion during the same period, with a trade shortfall of US$1.6 billion.
By Alex Lee and newswires (alexlee@heraldcorp.com)