SEOUL, Dec 1 (Reuters) – South Korea’s exports rose in November for the sixth straight month, beating market expectations, as chip sales hit a record thanks to strong demand for technology, while automobiles also “soared after a trade deal with the United States.”
Asia’s fourth-largest economy’s exports, a proxy for global trade, rose 8.4% from the same month a year earlier to $61.04 billion, trade data showed on Monday, stronger than an average 5.7% rise expected in a Reuters poll of economists.
This was also faster than a 3.5% increase in October.
Semiconductor exports rose 38.5% to a record monthly high of $17.26 billion, as strong demand for advanced chips used in data centers caused memory chip prices to rise.
Auto exports rose 13.7% as uncertainty over U.S. tariffs eased after South Korea finalized a trade deal with the United States in November following months of negotiations.
Still, shipments to the United States decreased 0.2%, as steel products, machinery and auto parts fell due to the tariff impact.
Shipments to China increased by 6.9%, while those to Southeast Asian countries increased by 6.3%. Shipments to the European Union fell 1.9%.
The Bank of Korea signaled last week that it was near the end of its monetary easing cycle by raising its economic growth forecast for next year thanks to strong semiconductor exports.
The trade-dependent economy grew in the third quarter at the strongest pace in a year and a half as exports remained strong thanks to demand for technology, offsetting the headwind from U.S. tariffs.
Imports rose 1.2% to $51.3 billion in November, after falling 1.5% in October. That was weaker than the 3.4% increase economists expected.
The monthly trade balance recorded a surplus of $9.7 billion, compared to $6 billion the previous month and the largest since September 2017.
(Reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Tom Hogue and Christopher Cushing)