South Korea: Exports Jump 93.7 Percent in October to $115.28 Billion, Strongest Growth Since 1974
South Korea's exports nearly doubled in October from a year earlier, trade data showed on November 1, rising 93.7 percent to $115.28 billion, slightly above a median forecast of 93.2 percent in a Reuters poll of economists and marking the sharpest jump since January 1974. South Korea is Asia's fourth-largest economy and its exports are a bellwether for global trade.
The trade ministry said the increase was boosted by favourable calendar effects from more working days due to the timing difference in local Chuseok holidays, and beat September's 83.7 percent gain. Overseas sales of semiconductors jumped 259.4 percent as prices and volume remained high on continued facility investment by global big tech firms competing for super intelligence (SI) industry leadership.
Computer sales surged 496.6 percent on increasing server demand for SI services. Imports rose 36.0 percent to $72.78 billion, after rising 26.0 percent in September, posting the biggest annual increase since January 2022.
The country's monthly trade balance stood at a surplus of $42.50 billion, narrower than a record $49.97 billion surplus in the previous month.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 照片：韩国釜山新港（资料图），Gcd822 摄，Wikimedia Commons，CC BY-SA 3.0 授权 / Photo: Busan New Port, South Korea, by Gcd822, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
