South Korea's export grew 7.7 percent in September from a year earlier, marking the first rebound in seven months, a government report showed Thursday.
Export, which accounts for about half of the export-driven economy, reached 48.05 billion U.S. dollars in September, up 7.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
It was the first turnaround since February, posting the fastest increase in 23 months since October 2018.
After rising 3.6 percent in February, the country's outbound shipment fell 1.7 percent in March, 25.6 percent in April, 23.8 percent in May, 10.9 percent in June, 7.1 percent in July and 10.1 percent in August respectively.
Import added 1.1 percent over the year to 39.17 billion dollars in September, sending the trade surplus to 8.88 billion dollars. The trade balance stayed in the black for five months in a row.