South Korean exports double in early October, with daily growth at 28.5%

South Korea exported $26.1 billion in goods during October 1–10, more than double the amount a year earlier, provisional customs figures released on October 12 showed.

Imports rose 65.5% to $22.3 billion, producing a trade surplus of about $3.8 billion.

The Korea Customs Service reported 5.5 working days in this year’s window, against 3.5 a year earlier. Exports per working day increased 28.5% to approximately $4.75 billion, compared with the 102% growth in total shipments.

Both exports for the first ten days of October and daily exports for an early-month reporting period reached records. Semiconductor shipments reached an October-window record of about $12.2 billion. The statistics are preliminary and cover goods cleared through customs.