South Korea's exports are expected to remain brisk in the fourth quarter of the year on the back of a recovery in global demand, a trade body said Thursday. The Korea International Trade Association (KITA) said its export business survey index (EBSI) stood at 106 for the October-December period The figure is down from 113.5 three months earlier but stays above the benchmark for the sixth consecutive quarter. A reading above 100 means optimists outnumber pessimists, while a reading below the benchmark means the opposite. The survey was carried out on 1,036 exporting companies. The rosy outlook comes amid brisk global demand for major export items, including auto parts, medical equipment and machinery.
Yet conditions for outbound shipments of petroleum products, plastic and rubber products, and chemical goods are expected to worsen in the coming month due to weak rising materials costs and overseas demand, according to KITA. South Korea's exports have been resilient this year on the back of a global economic recovery. The country's exports soared 22.9 percent on-year in the first 20 days of September thanks to robust demand for chips, petroleum products and autos. It follows a 35 percent spike in August.