S. Korea's exports surge 60.4 pct in 20 days of June

Alsharq Tribune-Otaify 

South Korea's exports surged in double digits in the first 20 days of June due to soaring demand for locally-made semiconductors, customs office data showed Monday.

The outbound shipment jumped 60.4 percent from a year earlier to 61.99 billion U.S. dollars in the June 1-20 period, according to the Korea Customs Service.

The daily average export spiked 49.7 percent to 4.13 billion dollars in the 20-day period.

Semiconductor exports skyrocketed 188.4 percent to 25.51 billion dollars, and automotive shipments grew 2.3 percent to 3.74 billion dollars.

Exports of oil products gained 39.0 percent due to expensive crude oil, caused by the continued Middle East tensions.

Computer shipments shot up 293.3 percent to 3.07 billion dollars, thanks to solid demand for solid-state drives (SSDs), driven by expanded demand for AI infrastructure.

Those for steel products, ships, mobile devices and home appliances posted a double-digit expansion.

Imports advanced 23.2 percent over the year to 44.49 billion dollars in the first 20 days of June, sending the trade surplus to 17.50 billion dollars.

Imports of crude oil, coal, chips, semiconductor equipment, precision machinery, cars and mobile devices all logged a double-digit increase in the cited period.