South Korea's export recorded double-digit growth for the first 10 days of this month, raising expectations for a recovery in global demand, customs office data showed Wednesday. Outbound shipment amounted to 14.1 billion U.S. dollars during the November 1-10 period, up 20.1 percent from the same period of last year, according to Korea Customs Service. The daily average export, which excludes the effect of the number of working days, climbed 12.1 percent in the 10-day period. The country's export kept skidding for six months between March and August amid the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. It rebounded in September, before sliding again in October.
For the first 10 days of November, export for semiconductors and telecommunication devices, such as smartphone, jumped more than 30 percent compared to a year earlier. Oil product shipment tumbled 24.1 percent, but automotive export increased 8.3 percent in the 10-day period. Export to China, the United States, the European Union (EU) and Vietnam advanced in double figures, but those to Japan and the Middle East declined in the cited period. Import gained 7.8 percent over the year to 13.3 billion dollars in the November 1-10 period, sending a trade surplus to 760 million dollars.