Exports fall 1.7% in October on weak chips demand
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Korea's exports fell 1.7 percent on-year in the first 10 days of October due mainly to weak global demand for semiconductors and fewer working days, data showed Wednesday.
Outbound shipments reached $11.59 billion in the Oct. 1-10 period, compared with $11.79 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service.
Per-day exports, however, advanced 9.2 percent on-year to $2.57 billion during the cited period.
It is the first time since September last year that the country's per-day exports logged an on-year growth.
The number of working days during the 10-day period came to four and half days, with the comparable figure for last year coming to five.
Imports grew 8.4 percent on-year to $16.93 billion during the period, resulting in a trade deficit of $5.34 billion.
In detail, exports of semiconductors, a key export item, slid 5.4 percent to $2.11 billion.
But global demand for Korean petroleum products soared 45.2 percent to $1.52 billion and auto exports logged a 14.7 percent increase to $1.08 billion.
By destination, exports to China fell 4.2 percent to $2.86 billion. China is the biggest trading partner of Korea.
Exports to Vietnam inched down 0.9 percent to $1.27 billion and those to the European Union tumbled 27.3 percent $1.03 billion.
But shipments to the United States climbed 14.7 percent to $1.88 billion while those to Japan went up 12.3 percent $592 million, the data showed.
Exports fell for the 12th month in a row in September on aggressive monetary tightening by the United States and other major economies and a global economic slowdown, but the country reported a trade surplus for the fourth straight month on falling energy imports.
The government expected a turnaround in exports as early as October as global demand for Korean semiconductors has shown signs of recovering and has vowed all-out efforts to support exporters.
As of Tuesday, the country's trade deficit so far this year stood at $25.03 billion. (Yonhap)