Seoul, April 13 (IANS) South Korea’s exports jumped 36.7 per cent from a year earlier in the first 10 days of April, driven by strong overseas demand for semiconductors, data showed on Monday.

Outbound shipments reached US$25.2 billion in the April 1-10 period, compared with $18.4 billion tallied in the same period last year, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service.

It marked the country’s highest exports ever recorded for the first 10 days of a month, surpassing the previous record of $21.7 billion set in the same period last month, reports Yonhap news agency.

By item, exports of semiconductors surged 152 percent on-year to $8.6 billion amid the global artificial intelligence (AI) boom.

The figure marked the highest amount ever recorded for the first 10 days of a month.

Chip exports accounted for 34 percent of the country’s total exports over the cited period, up 15.6 percentage points from the same period last year.

Exports of petroleum products jumped 38.6 percent on-year to $1.8 billion.

But automobile exports went down 6.7 percent to $1.7 billion, while shipments of auto parts dipped 7.3 percent on-year to $654 million.

By destination, exports to China, South Korea’s top trading partner, soared 63.8 percent on-year to $5.7 billion.

Shipments to the United States jumped 24 percent to $4.3 billion despite the tariff scheme by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration, the data showed.

Imports went up 12.7 percent on-year to $22.1 billion over the cited period, resulting in a trade surplus of $3.1 billion, the data showed.

By item, imports of semiconductors rose 29.7 percent on-year and crude oil gained 8.7 percent, while machinery fell 7.4 percent.

In particular, crude oil imports extended their upward trend for a third straight month, reaching $2.8 billion in the first 10 days of April, following $2 billion in the first 10 days of February and $2.3 billion in March.

The agency attributed the increase to a combination of higher global oil prices amid tensions in the Middle East and the weak Korean won.

—IANS

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