Exports up 4.6% during first 20 days of October

Korea's exports rose 4.6 percent on-year in the first 20 days of October on robust shipments of cars and petroleum products, data showed Monday.

The country's outbound shipments reached $33.8 billion in the Oct. 1-20 period, compared with $32.3 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service.

Imports rose 0.6 percent on-year to $37.6 billion during the period, resulting in a trade deficit of $3.74 billion.

By sector, exports of chips moved down 6.4 percent over the period to $5.21 billion.

On the other hand, shipments of petroleum products moved up 14.5 percent to reach $3.57 billion, and those of automobiles gained 24.7 percent to $3.3 billion.

Exports of ships also jumped 63 percent over the period to $1.61 billion, the data showed.

By destination, exports to China fell 6.1 percent to $7.15 billion, apparently due to the slower-than-expected recovery of Asia's top economy.

Shipments to the United States, on the other hand, gained 12.7 percent to hit $5.79 billion.

Exports to the European Union edged down 1 percent to $3.46 billion, while those to Vietnam gained 0.6 percent to $3.16 billion.

Exports fell for the 12th month in a row in September on aggressive monetary tightening by 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 South Korean semiconductors has shown signs of recovering and has vowed all-out efforts to support exporters.

As of last Friday, Korea's total trade deficit for this year reached $23.4 billion. (Yonhap)