S. Korea's export tops 80 bln USD for 2nd month in April

Alsharq Tribune-Otaify 

South Korea's export topped 80 billion U.S. dollars for a second straight month owing to soaring demand for locally-made semiconductors, government data showed Friday.

Export, which accounts for about half of the export-driven economy, spiked 48.0 percent from a year earlier to 85.89 billion dollars in April after recording 86.6 billion dollars in March, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources.

It marked the second-highest monthly figure after hitting an all-time high in the previous month.

The daily average export surged 48.0 percent to 3.58 billion dollars, surpassing 3 billion dollars for a third successive month.

Import gained 16.7 percent to 62.11 billion dollars last month, sending the trade surplus to 23.77 billion dollars.

Of the country's 15 major export items, eight products saw a growth in outbound shipment.

Semiconductor export skyrocketed 173.5 percent to 31.90 billion dollars, exceeding 30 billion dollars for a second consecutive month.

The soaring chip shipment was driven by sustained demand for artificial intelligence (AI) servers and a subsequent surge in memory chip prices.

Mobile phone export advanced 11.6 percent to 1.62 billion dollars, but display panel shipment declined 2.7 percent to 1.29 billion dollars.

Computer shipment jumped 515.8 percent to 4.08 billion dollars thanks to solid demand for solid state drives (SSDs), affected by expanded demand for AI infrastructure.

Automotive export reduced 5.5 percent to 6.17 billion dollars on the back of the Middle East tensions and the U.S. tariffs imposition, and auto parts shipment dipped 6.0 percent to 1.90 billion dollars.

General machinery shipment slipped 2.6 percent to 4.20 billion dollars, but export for ships swelled 43.8 percent to 2.89 billion dollars.

Export for oil products grew 39.9 percent to 5.11 billion dollars amid surging oil prices, and petrochemicals shipment mounted 7.8 percent to 4.09 billion dollars.

Dubai crude, South Korea's benchmark, averaged 105.37 dollars per barrel in April, up 55.6 percent compared with the same month of last year.

Shipment for steel products and home appliances dropped in double digits in the cited month.

Export to the United States climbed 54.0 percent to 16.33 billion dollars thanks to soaring semiconductor demand that offset the negative effect of the tariff imposition.

Shipment to the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) jumped 64.0 percent to 15.41 billion dollars, while export to the European Union (EU) expanded 8.5 percent to 7.19 billion dollars.

Export to Japan gained 28.4 percent to 2.96 billion dollars, while those to Latin America and India soared in double figures to 2.85 billion dollars and 2.42 billion dollars, respectively.

Regarding import items, the import of three major energy sources, including crude oil, natural gas and coal, picked up 7.5 percent to 10.61 billion dollars last month.

Non-energy import advanced 18.8 percent to 51.51 billion dollars on robust demand for semiconductor equipment and computers.