SEOUL, May 1 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's export rose in single digits for the third straight month due to solid demand for locally-made semiconductors, mobile devices and ships, government data showed Thursday.
Export, which accounts for about half of the export-driven economy, gained 3.7 percent from a year earlier to 58.21 billion U.S. dollars in April, after growing 0.7 percent in February and 3.0 percent in March, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
Import fell 2.7 percent to 53.32 billion dollars, sending the trade surplus to 4.89 billion dollars. The trade balance stayed in black for the third consecutive month.
Of the country's 15 major export items, seven products saw an increase in outbound shipment.
Semiconductor export soared 17.2 percent over the year to 11.67 billion dollars in April due to strong demand for high-end chips, including double data rate 5 (DDR5) and high bandwidth memory (HBM) used in generative artificial intelligence (AI) chipsets.
Mobile device shipment jumped 26.5 percent to 1.45 billion dollars on robust demand for smartphones, but display panel export declined 7.6 percent to 1.32 billion dollars.
Computer export dipped 15.3 percent to 660 million dollars, marking the first reduction in 16 months.
Automotive shipment diminished 3.8 percent to 6.53 billion dollars on lower demand for electric vehicles, but auto parts export increased 3.5 percent to 2.03 billion dollars.
Export for ships mounted 17.3 percent to 2.01 billion dollars, but general machinery shipment decreased 6.3 percent to 4.31 billion dollars.
Export for oil products dived 14.4 percent to 3.72 billion dollars on the back of lower product price.
Global prices for gasoline and diesel went down 26.3 percent and 21.9 percent each in April on a yearly basis.
Petrochemical shipment slipped 13.1 percent to 3.75 billion dollars on the global supply glut and cheaper crude oil.
Dubai crude, South Korea's benchmark, averaged 72.5 dollars per barrel in March, down 13.9 percent compared to the same month of last year.
Steel product export expanded 5.4 percent to 2.97 billion dollars, marking the first rebound in four months on rising steel demand, while secondary battery shipment advanced 13.7 percent to 700 million dollars.
Export for home appliances and textiles slid in single digits to 710 million dollars and 910 million dollars.
Export to the United States dipped 6.8 percent from a year earlier to 10.63 billion dollars in April, turning downward on lower demand for cars and machinery affected by the U.S. tariffs imposition.
Shipment to the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) climbed 4.5 percent to 9.44 billion dollars due to solid demand for semiconductors and steel products, while export to the European Union (EU) swelled 18.4 percent to 6.69 billion dollars.
Export to Japan shrank 5.3 percent to 2.31 billion dollars, but those to Latin America, India and the Middle East was up in single digits to 2.59 billion dollars, 1.71 billion dollars and 1.69 billion dollars each.
Regarding import items, the import of three major energy sources, including crude oil, natural gas and coal, dropped 20.1 percent to 9.96 billion dollars last month.
Non-energy imports added 2.4 percent to 43.36 billion dollars on solid demand for semiconductor equipment and computers. ■