South Korea's export posted a double-digit growth in the Aug. 1-10 period thanks to strong demand for locally-made semiconductors, customs office data showed Monday.
Export, which accounts for about half of the export-driven economy, came in at 14.8 billion U.S. dollars for the first 10 days of this month, up 18.9 percent from the same period of last year, according to the Korea Customs Service.
The daily average export was 1.74 billion dollars in the cited period, up 18.9 percent from a year earlier.
It marked the second consecutive month of expansion after rising 6.2 percent in the previous month. In June, the outbound shipment inched down 0.17 percent.
The country's export topped 50 billion dollars for five months through July due mainly to solid demand for chips.
Chip export surged 41 percent in the August 1-10 period, with those for oil products and auto parts jumping 56.7 percent and 11.8 percent, respectively.
Shipments of display panel and ships declined 12.9 percent and 97.7 percent each in the cited period.
Export to China and the United States, South Korea's top two trading partners, climbed 28.8 percent and 7.8 percent each, with those to Vietnam and the European Unio (EU) growing 35.3 percent and 16.9 percent, respectively.
import advanced 14.8 percent to 16.3 billion dollars for the first 10 days of this month.
