South Korea's exports hit record high in January-September period

SEOUL: South Korea's exports hit a record high in the January-September period mainly due to robust demand for semiconductors and oil products, a government report showed Wednesday.

For the first nine months of this year, exports amounted to 430.19 billion US dollars, the largest ever recorded by the export-driven economy in the cited period, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. It was up 18.5 percent from a year earlier.

The previous high was 424.97 billion dollars tallied during the January-September period in 2014.

The quarterly growth rate of exports, which account for about half of the economy, kept rising from 14.7 percent in the first quarter to 16.7 percent in the second quarter and 24 percent in the third quarter.

Global demand was strong for locally-made semiconductors, of which exports surged 53.9 percent in the January-September period.

Oil product exports advanced 32.7 percent, with those for steel products and general machinery posting a double-digit expansion.

By region, exports to China took up 23.6 percent of South Korea's total exports in the cited period, keeping the top post. It was trailed by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) with 16.5 percent and the United States with 12.1 percent.

Exports to China gained 13.4 percent in the cited period, with those to the ASEAN jumping 30.6 percent. Shipments to the United States and the European Union expanded 5.3 percent and 22.8 percent respectively.