South Korea experienced a significant 36.7% increase in exports during the first 10 days of April compared to the same period last year. The surge was primarily fueled by strong global demand for semiconductors, with outbound shipments totaling $25.2 billion. This marked the highest export figures ever recorded for the country in the initial 10 days of a month.
Exports of semiconductors notably skyrocketed by 152% year-on-year, reaching $8.6 billion, reflecting the ongoing global artificial intelligence (AI) trend. Semiconductor exports accounted for 34% of South Korea’s total exports during this period, showing a substantial increase from the previous year. On the other hand, exports of petroleum products saw a notable 38.6% rise to $1.8 billion.
Automobile exports, however, experienced a decline of 6.7% to $1.7 billion, while shipments of auto parts decreased by 7.3% year-on-year to $654 million. Despite the challenges, exports to China, South Korea’s primary trading partner, surged by 63.8% to $5.7 billion. Additionally, exports to the United States grew by 24% to $4.3 billion, despite the tariff measures imposed by the U.S. administration.
Imports also saw an uptick of 12.7% year-on-year, amounting to $22.1 billion during the same period. This resulted in a trade surplus of $3.1 billion for South Korea. Notably, imports of semiconductors rose by 29.7%, while crude oil imports increased by 8.7%. The rise in crude oil imports was attributed to higher global oil prices amid tensions in the Middle East and the depreciation of the Korean won.
