NEW YORK, 1st June, 2024 (WAM) -- The Republic of Korea’s export growth continued last month, led by demand for semiconductors, boosting the country’s trade balance to the biggest surplus since 2020 and supporting optimism among policymakers for better-than-expected economic expansion this year, a Bloomberg survey showed.
Shipments that reflect working-day differences increased 9.2 percent from a year earlier, easing from 11.3 percent from April, according to data released Saturday by the customs office. Without the adjustment, headline exports rose 11.7 percent, lower than the 15.3 percent forecast in a Bloomberg survey. Overall imports decreased by 2 percent.
The country’s surplus increased to $4.96 billion, the largest in 41 months. The Republic of Korea has seen gains in the trade balance for a full year, according to the trade ministry.
Last month, the Bank of Korea revised its forecast for economic growth sharply as export momentum stayed robust on the back of demand for products including semiconductors and automobiles. Chip sales have been particularly strong, leading to gains in overall sales overseas from late last year.
In the first three months of the year, trade helped Korea post an economic expansion that was twice as fast as analysts had anticipated.
Korean exports of chips jumped 54.5 percent from a year earlier in May while those of displays climbed 15.8 percent. Overseas shipments of solid-state drives used in computers rose 48.4 percent, the trade ministry said. While semiconductor exports rose for a seventh month, the pace of increase moderated slightly from 56.1 percent in April.