SEOUL, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's export rose in single digits last month thanks to a double-digit increase in semiconductor exports that offset fewer business days and the negative effect of U.S. tariffs imposition, government data showed Saturday.
Export, which accounts for about half of the export-driven economy, gained 3.6 percent to 59.57 billion U.S. dollars in October compared with the same month of last year, continuing to go up for the fifth straight month since June, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
Amid the fewer working days, affected by the Chuseok holidays, the South Korean version of Thanksgiving Day, daily average export jumped 14.0 percent to hit an all-time monthly high of 2.98 billion dollars.
Import shrank 1.5 percent to 53.52 billion dollars last month, sending trade surplus to 6.06 billion dollars. Trade balance stayed in black for the ninth consecutive month since February.
Of the country's 15 major export items, four products saw an expansion in outbound shipment.
Semiconductor export soared 25.4 percent from a year earlier to 15.73 billion dollars in October, marking the highest October performance.
The surging chip shipment was attributed to strong demand for high-end chips, such as double data rate 5 (DDR5) and high bandwidth memory (HBM) products used in generative artificial intelligence (AI) chipsets as well as higher price for memory chips.
Export for ships more than doubled to 4.69 billion dollars, keeping an upward trend for the eighth successive month amid solid demand for large-scale offshore plants.
Automotive shipment declined 10.5 percent to 5.55 billion dollars, turning downward in five months on the back of fewer working days and U.S. tariffs imposition.
Shipment of display panels and mobile devices decreased to 1.48 billion dollars and 1.83 billion dollars each, while machinery export dropped 16.1 percent to 3.33 billion dollars. ■
