S. Korea’s export grows for 11th month in August

SEOUL, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) — South Korea’s export grew for the 11th straight month due to strong demand for locally-made tech and oil products, government data showed Sunday.
Export, which accounts for around half of the export-driven economy, rose 11.4 percent from a year earlier to 57.90 billion U.S. dollars in August, continuing to climb since October 2023, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
Import gained 6.0 percent over the year to 54.07 billion dollars in August, sending the trade surplus to 3.83 billion dollars. The trade balance stayed in black for the 15th consecutive month since June 2023.
Of the country’s 15 major export items, seven products saw an increase in outbound shipment.
Semiconductor export soared 38.8 percent over the year to 11.88 billion dollars in August, keeping an upward trend for the 10th successive month.
The rapid expansion was attributed to chip demand relevant to artificial intelligence (AI), higher memory chip prices, and the launch of new smartphones.
Mobile device shipment jumped 50.4 percent to 1.81 billion dollars thanks to the global smartphone market recovery, while computer export almost tripled to 1.48 billion dollars on the continued demand for solid state drive (SSD).
Display panel export declined 4.9 percent to 1.82 billion dollars last month, marking the first fall in 13 months.
Automotive shipment reduced 4.3 percent to 5.07 billion dollars, with auto parts export sliding by 3.5 percent to 1.84 billion dollars.
General machinery shipment decreased 5.9 percent to 3.86 billion dollars, but export for ships spiked 80.0 percent to 2.84 billion dollars owing to higher demand for high-value-added ships such as LNG carriers and container ships.
Shipment for oil products and petrochemicals increased in single digits to 4.53 billion dollars and 4.18 billion dollars each on robust global demand that offset lower prices.
Dubai crude, South Korea’s benchmark, averaged 77.6 dollars per barrel in August, down 10.2 percent compared to August 2023.
Steel export retreated 1.7 percent to 2.81 billion dollars, while shipment for home appliances, textiles and secondary batteries shrank in single digits to 620 million dollars, 790 million dollars, and 710 million dollars respectively.
Export to the United States advanced 11.1 percent from a year earlier to 9.96 billion dollars in August, maintaining an upward trend for the 13th successive month since August 2023.
Shipment to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) added 1.7 percent to 9.82 billion dollars on strong demand from Vietnam, and export to the European Union (EU) jumped 16.1 percent to 6.43 billion dollars.
Export to Japan, Latin America and India gained to 2.52 billion dollars, 2.56 billion dollars and 1.64 billion dollars each last month.
Regarding import items, the import of three major energy sources, including crude oil, natural gas and coal, climbed 17.3 percent to 12.58 billion dollars in August compared to August 2023.
Non-energy imports grew 3.0 percent to 41.49 billion dollars on higher demand for chips and naphtha. ■