Seoul, Dec 1 South Korea's exports increased 8.4 per cent from a year earlier in November to over $61 billion, marking the sixth consecutive month of increase on the back of strong demand for semiconductors, government data showed on Monday.
Outbound shipments came to $61.04 billion last month, the highest for any November, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources, reports Yonhap news agency.
Imports gained 1.2 per cent on-year to $51.3 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $9.73 billion.
Accumulated exports in the January-November period reached $640.2 billion, a record high for the cited period, raising expectations that the country's annual exports will surpass the $700 billion mark for the first time in its history this year.
Semiconductor exports soared 38.6 percent on-year to an all-time monthly high of $17.26 billion last month, led by a continued rise in memory chip prices sparked by strong demand for high-value products for data centres.
It marked the ninth consecutive month chip exports posted an on-year increase.
Auto exports climbed 13.7 percent to $6.41 billion on the strong performance of internal combustion vehicles and hybrid cars, marking a turnaround from a 10.5 percent drop in October.
In the January-November period, accumulated exports of semiconductors and automobiles both reached the highest figures for the cited period, coming to $152.6 billion and $66.04 billion, respectively.
Shipments of wireless communication devices added 1.6 percent to $1.73 billion, and shipments of secondary batteries went up 2.2 percent to $670 million, snapping a six-month losing streak.
Exports of electrical equipment, agro-fisheries products and cosmetics expanded 5.2 percent, 3.3 percent and 4.3 percent, respectively, to $1.27 billion, $1.04 billion and $950 million.
But exports of petroleum products dipped 10.3 percent to $3.28 billion, while exports of petrochemical products dropped 14.1 percent to $3.06 billion amid a global oversupply.
Steel exports slid 16 percent to $2.3 billion as new orders were limited due to the U.S. administration's hefty tariff measures and slowdown in global demand.
In detail, semiconductor and auto exports to the U.S. advanced 39 percent and 11 percent to $1.1 billion and $2.2 billion, respectively, in the first 25 days of the month. But shipments of steel products to the U.S. plunged 24 percent on-year to $200 million, with machinery exports contracting 18 percent to $800 million.
Exports to China gained 6.9 percent to $12.07 billion on strong demand for semiconductors, petroleum and machinery products.
Shipments to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) rose 6.3 percent to $10.42 billion, led by semiconductors, and shipments to the Middle East jumped 33.1 percent to $2.18 billion.
Shipments to the European Union decreased 1.9 percent to $5.34 billion on weaker steel and ship demand.
Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan said Korea's exports are showing an upward trend thanks to the strong performance of semiconductor, automobile and bio-health products, as well as the diversification of export items, vowing efforts to continue the growth momentum even amid global trade uncertainties.
With the recent submission of a special bill on Seoul's $350 billion investment commitment to the U.S. under a bilateral tariff deal, the conditions have been met for the U.S. administration's lowering of tariffs on Korean cars and auto parts, he added.
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