South Korea’s exports rose by a robust 10% in January, defying global economic headwinds and outperforming market expectations, official data showed Monday..
The country’s outbound shipments reached $58.97 billion last month, up from $53.51 billion a year earlier, according to data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy..
The growth was driven by strong demand for semiconductors, petrochemicals and automobiles, offsetting a decline in exports of ships and wireless communication devices..
Semiconductor exports, South Korea’s key export item, surged 28.4% to $12.36 billion, while petrochemical exports increased by 20.6% to $4.42 billion. Automobile exports also rose by 13.6% to $3.39 billion..
However, exports of ships fell by 35.1% to $1.87 billion, and wireless communication devices declined by 12.5% to $1.79 billion..
By region, exports to China, South Korea’s largest trading partner, increased by 11.8% to $14.15 billion. Shipments to the United States rose by 10.4% to $10.52 billion, and exports to the European Union grew by 9.6% to $5.18 billion..
South Korea’s imports also rose by 10.1% in January to $55.03 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $3.94 billion..
Analysts said the strong export performance defied expectations of a slowdown due to global economic uncertainties, such as the war in Ukraine and rising interest rates..
.
