South Korean exports nearly doubled in October on AI investment boom
The surge was partly driven by the month having more working days than a year earlier due to differences in the timing of the Chuseok holidays.
South Korea recorded nearly double the exports in October, marking the sharpest increase in over half a century, according to government data released on Sunday. The surge in overseas sales was primarily driven by robust demand for chips fueled by AI investments globally. In October, semiconductor exports skyrocketed by 259.4% to $56.44 billion.
Meanwhile, total exports rose 93.7% year-on-year to $115.28 billion, slightly above the median forecast of 93.2% increase in a Reuters survey of economists. This surge surpassed all expectations, being stronger than September's 83.7% growth and the highest since January 1974. The strong performance in October, with exports exceeding $110 billion, suggests that South Korea could achieve an annual export total of $1 trillion by November, as stated by Trade, Industry and Resources Minister Kim Jung-kwan.
The nation's exports for the first ten months of the year totaled $930 billion, putting South Korea on track to become the fourth country, after the US, China, and Germany, to reach this historic milestone. The surge in semiconductor exports was attributed to increased facility investments by global tech giants in the competitive AI industry.
Computer sales surged 496.6% due to heightened demand for server services supporting AI applications. Shipments to China grew by 133.6%, followed by the US at 185.8%, Europe at 56.4%, and Southeast Asia at 128.0%. South Korean imports also increased by 36.0% to $72.78 billion, the highest annual rise since January 2022, driven by higher crude oil prices and demand for semiconductor manufacturing equipment and automobiles.
The trade surplus for the month stood at $42.50 billion, a significant drop from the previous month's record $49.97 billion surplus.
Written by urgent.news from Free Malaysia Today's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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