SEOUL: South Korea's exports in the first 20 days of June soared 29.5% to $32.36 billion from a year earlier, customs agency data showed on Monday, boosting hopes for a solid recovery in global demand.

A breakdown of the data showed outbound shipments of semiconductors, cars and petroleum products jumped 28.5%, 62.2% and 58.6%, espectively, while those to China, the United States and the European Union surged 7.9%, 41.3% and 48.8%.

Imports for the same period increased 29.1% year-on-year, leading to a provisional $291 million trade surplus.

Full-month data is due on July 1.