{
  "id": 19535,
  "title": "South Korea July exports beat forecasts on robust demand for AI investments",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/01/south-korea-july-exports-beat-forecasts-on-robust-demand-for-ai",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-08-01T04:36:10.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Economic Times Tech",
    "slug": "economic-times-tech",
    "url": "https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/artificial-intelligence/south-korea-july-exports-beat-forecasts-on-robust-demand-for-ai-investments/articleshow/132781317.cms"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "South Korea's exports surged 62.8% in July from a year ago, reaching $98.89 billion, according to preliminary trade data released on Saturday. This marked an increase above economists' median forecast of a 59.0% surge. The trade ministry cited robust demand for AI investments as the primary driver behind the strong export performance. Semiconductor exports jumped 179%, with memory chip prices continuing to rise despite concerns over Apple's potential use of Chinese memory chips and a new AI development in China. Computer sales also saw a significant surge of 404% due to increased AI investments by major U.S. technology firms. Despite the impressive growth, the July figure fell short of the 70.7% surge in June, which was the largest annual increase since 1978. The country's stock market, the KOSPI, experienced a sharp drop of 22% the previous month, the largest decline since 2008, driven by AI-related worries. However, it rebounded strongly on Friday with a record rally spurred by fresh investment in global semiconductor stocks. Samsung Electronics reported a more than 250-fold increase in chip profits and announced supply deals with major data center operators, anticipating a prolonged chip shortage extending into 2028. SK Hynix, another chipmaker, reported strong quarterly results but fell short of investor expectations, fueling concerns about potential slowdown in AI spending by big tech firms. Exports to China increased by 96% in July, while shipments to the U.S. rose by 69%. Shipments to the Middle East saw a 25% increase after five consecutive months of declines due to the Iran war. Imports rose 26.5% to $68.56 billion in July, slightly above the 26.6% forecast by economists, resulting in a monthly trade surplus of $30.32 billion. This followed a record surplus of $36.09 billion in the previous month.",
  "summary": "Semiconductor exports jumped 179% as memory chip prices continued to rise despite the issues of Apple's potential use of Chinese memory chips and a new AI development in China, the trade ministry said in a statement. Computer sales also surged 404% on increasing AI investments by big U.S. technology firms, the ministry said.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}