Chip shipments jump 206% as Korea posts record early-June exports
Korea’s exports hit an all-time high for the first 10 days of June as semiconductor shipments more than tripled from a year earlier.
Korea's exports surged to a record high in the first 10 days of June, driven by a more than threefold increase in semiconductor shipments.
Exports totaled $28.6 billion from June 1 to Wednesday, up 85.9 percent from a year earlier, according to data released by the Korea Customs Service on Thursday. It was the highest export volume ever recorded for the first 10 days of a month.
The figure overtook the previous record of $25.2 billion set during the first 10 days of last April.
Daily exports averaged $4.1 billion during the period, up 46.1 percent on year. The sharp gain reflects a calendar advantage: there were seven working days between June 1 and Wednesday, 1.5 days more than the previous year.
Semiconductors led the export boom.
Chip exports reached $11.1 billion during the period, up 205.8 percent from a year earlier. It is the highest figure ever recorded for the first 10 days of any month. Semiconductors accounted for 38.7 percent of total exports, up 15.1 percentage points from a year earlier.
Exports of computer peripherals rose 259.4 percent and shipments of petroleum products and passenger vehicles increased 68.7 percent and 25.4 percent, respectively.
Exports of petroleum products, such as gasoline and diesel fuel, increased as rising oil prices pushed up product prices.
Imports rose 35.6 percent on year to $23.5 billion.
By category, imports of semiconductors and semiconductor-related products increased sharply: semiconductors, up 71.3 percent, and chipmaking equipment, up 52.5 percent. Energy imports, such as crude oil, also rose 39.9 percent from a year earlier.
Crude oil imports reached $3 billion, up 42.9 percent from a year earlier. It marked the first time crude oil imports exceeded $3 billion since August 2024.
The increase was attributed to persistently high oil prices due to ongoing military tensions in the Middle East, as well as the recent weakening of the won against the dollar.
Korea posted a trade surplus of $5.3 billion during the period
The cumulative trade surplus from Jan. 1 through Wednesday reached a record $107.5 billion.
BY AHN HYO-SEONG [[email protected]]
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