Seoul, May 1 (IANS) South Korea’s exports exceeded $80 billion for the second consecutive month in April, jumping nearly 50 per cent from a year earlier on the back of robust shipments of semiconductors, government data showed on Friday.

Outbound shipments totalled $85.89 billion last month, up 48 percent on-year, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources, reports Yonhap news agency.

The April tally marks the second-highest monthly export figure for the country, following an all-time high of $86.6 billion recorded in March.

Imports rose 16.7 percent on-year to $62.11 billion last month, resulting in a trade surplus of $23.77 billion.

April also marked the second consecutive month the country enjoyed a monthly trade surplus of over $20 billion.

The ministry largely attributed the sharp increase in exports to a semiconductor supercycle.

Chip exports amounted to $31.9 billion, spiking 173.5 percent from a year earlier and reaching the highest-ever figure for any April, on persisting demand for artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors and the continued rise of memory chip prices.

Exports of petroleum products soared 39.9 percent on-year to $5.11 billion, despite a decrease in the volume of shipments, as oil prices surged due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, the ministry said.

In detail, the volume of outbound shipments of gasoline, diesel and kerosene products declined by 43 percent, 23.2 percent and 99.9 percent, respectively, as the Seoul government implemented export restrictions on such items in mid-March in a bid to stabilize the domestic fuel market.

Computer exports surged 515.8 percent to $4.08 billion, the highest monthly figure ever, as global demand for solid state drives expanded in line with the growth of the AI sector.

Shipments of electrical equipment, cosmetics and agro-fisheries products expanded 7.6 percent, 33.4 percent and 8.8 percent on-year, respectively, to $1.57 billion, $1.37 billion, $1.22 billion, all climbing to record figures for any April.

Auto exports dropped 5.5 percent to $6.17 billion in April, due partly to shipping disruptions caused by the Mideast crisis and Korean carmakers’ expansion of production in the United States in response to Washington’s tariff policies, according to the ministry.

—IANS

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