South Korea's exports jumped 53.9 percent from a year earlier to $29.8 billion in the first 10 days of July, driven by strong semiconductor shipments.
According to data released Monday by the Korea Customs Service, outbound shipments reached $29.8 billion in the July 1-10 period, compared with $19.3 billion a year earlier. The figure marked the highest for any 10-day period compiled by the agency.
Semiconductor exports nearly tripled to $11.2 billion. Automobile exports rose 5.7 percent to $1.89 billion, petroleum products advanced 22.7 percent to $1.75 billion and ship exports climbed 75.1 percent to $1.54 billion.
Exports to China surged 88.7 percent to $7 billion while those to the United States increased 43.2 percent to $4.91 billion. Cumulative exports this year totaled $526.1 billion as of Friday, up 48.6 percent from a year earlier, with a trade surplus of $144 billion.
