SEOUL, July 13 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's exports surged in double digits in the first 10 days of July due to soaring demand for locally-made semiconductors, customs office data showed Monday.
The outbound shipment totaled 29.84 billion U.S. dollars in the July 1 to 10 period, up 53.9 percent compared with the same period of last year, according to the Korea Customs Service.
It marked an all-time high for the 10-day period, surpassing the previous record of 28.6 billion dollars set in June.
The daily average export jumped 53.9 percent to 3.51 billion dollars in the 10 days.
Semiconductor exports spiked 193.0 percent to 11.21 billion dollars on strong demand for chips used in the artificial intelligence (AI) chipset.
Shipments for computers and peripherals skyrocketed 208.1 percent to 874 million dollars thanks to strong demand for solid state drives, driven by an expanded demand for AI infrastructure.
Exports of oil products, ships, steel products, mobile devices, precision machinery and home appliances swelled in double figures.
The Asian country's imports grew 17.4 percent from a year earlier to 23.48 billion dollars in the first 10 days of July, sending the trade surplus to 6.36 billion dollars.
Imports of chips, crude oil, natural gas, semiconductor equipment, oil products, coal and mobile devices posted double-digit growth in the cited period. ■
