SEOUL, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's exports soared in double digits in the first 10 days of August, supported by surging demand for locally-made semiconductors, customs office data showed Tuesday.
The outbound shipments totaled 21.29 billion U.S. dollars in the Aug. 1 to 10 period, up 45.3 percent compared to the same period of last year, according to Korea Customs Service.
The daily average exports jumped 45.3 percent to 3.04 billion U.S. dollars in the 10-day period.
Semiconductor exports spiked 155.4 percent to 9.95 billion U.S. dollars on robust demand for chips used in artificial intelligence (AI) applications.
Shipments of computers and peripherals skyrocketed 139.5 percent to 587 million U.S. dollars thanks to strong demand for solid state drives, driven by an expanded demand for AI infrastructure.
Oil products export advanced 65.3 percent to 2.0 billion U.S. dollars, but those for ships, cars and auto parts decreased in double figures.
The Asian country's imports increased 23.1 percent from a year earlier to 19.49 billion U.S. dollars in the first 10 days of August, sending the trade surplus to 1.80 billion U.S. dollars.
Imports for chips, semiconductor equipment, machinery, cars and mobile devices posted a double-digit growth in the cited period. ■
