- California Assembly OKs highest minimum wage in nation
- S. Korea unveils first graphic cigarette warnings
- US joins with South Korea, Japan in bid to deter North Korea
- LPGA golfer Chun In-gee finally back in action
- S. Korea won’t be top seed in final World Cup qualification round
- US men’s soccer misses 2nd straight Olympics
- US back on track in qualifying with 4-0 win over Guatemala
- High-intensity workout injuries spawn cottage industry
- CDC expands range of Zika mosquitoes into parts of Northeast
- Who knew? ‘The Walking Dead’ is helping families connect
Exports increase 8.5 pct from June 1-20 on strong chip sales
Exports rose 8.5 percent on-year in the first 20 days of June on strong global demand for semiconductors, data showed Friday.
Outbound shipments reached US$35.75 billion in the June 1-20 period, compared with $32.94 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service.
Per-day exports also advanced 8.5 percent on-year to $2.47 billion.
Imports inched down 0.6 percent on-year to $34.2 billion during the cited period, resulting in a trade surplus of $1.5 billion.
Exports, a key economic growth engine, rose 11.7 percent on-year to $58.1 billion in May on the back of strong shipments of semiconductors, extending on-year gains to the eighth straight month.
The export growth was led by strong sales of semiconductors, a key export item.
Chip exports soared 50.2 percent to $7.31 billion from June 1-20.
Semiconductor exports accounted for 20.4 percent of the country’s total exports during the cited period, up 5.7 percentage points from a year earlier amid an industry cycle upturn.
Sales of petroleum products advanced 6 percent to $2.52 billion.
But auto exports shed 0.4 percent on-year to $3.35 billion, and sales of automotive parts fell 2.2 percent to $1.16 billion.
Steel exports lost 4.3 percent to $2.47 billion, and exports of vessels sank 40.3 percent on-year to $1.07 billion.
By nation, exports to the United States jumped 23.5 percent to $7.13 billion.
Shipments to China rose 5.6 percent to $7.03 billion, and those to Vietnam climbed 30.7 percent to $3.53 billion.
But exports to the European Union slid 7.3 percent to $3.33 billion.
The government has expected exports to advance 8.5 percent this year to reach a record high of over $700 billion.