Exports Rise 44.4% in February 1?10
Semiconductor Shipments Jump 137.6%
Fewer Working Days in February... Impact of the Semiconductor Supercycle
Exports in February are expected to turn positive, extending the export growth trend for a ninth consecutive month. Unlike last year, the Lunar New Year holidays fall in February this year, resulting in fewer working days this month. However, robust semiconductor performance is expected to drive the overall increase in exports.
According to the Korea Customs Service on the 16th, exports for February 1-10 came to 21.4 billion dollars, up 44.4% from the same period a year earlier. The number of working days was 7.5, which is 0.5 days more than the 7.0 days recorded a year earlier. Taking this into account, average daily exports rose 34.8% to 2.85 billion dollars.
By item, exports increased year-on-year for semiconductors (137.6%), petroleum products (40.1%), steel products (29.3%), wireless communication devices (27.9%), and computer peripherals (90.2%). In contrast, exports of passenger cars (-2.6%) and ships (-29.0%) declined. With semiconductor exports rising sharply, the share of semiconductors in total exports reached 31.5%, expanding by 12.3 percentage points.
Exports to all of the top 10 trading partners increased. Exports to China jumped 54.1% year-on-year, while exports to the United States (38.5%), Vietnam (38.1%), the European Union (EU, 12.2%), Taiwan (101.4%), Japan (31.1%), Malaysia (136.1%), and India (35.1%) also grew.
Imports for February 1-10 totaled 20.7 billion dollars, up 21.1% from the same period a year earlier. Among the top 10 import items, imports increased for 7 items, including semiconductors (32.2%), semiconductor manufacturing equipment (69.1%), and precision instruments (22.0%), while they decreased for 3 items: crude oil (-19.7%), gas (-2.2%), and petroleum products (-14.1%). Imports of energy such as crude oil, gas, and coal fell 11.9%. By country, imports from 9 major trading partners increased, including China (65.5%), the EU (39.4%), the United States (4.0%), and Japan (0.5%), while imports from Saudi Arabia decreased (-30.3%).
The trade balance for the first 10 days of this month recorded a surplus of 644 million dollars. Including this, the cumulative trade surplus for the year reached 9.359 billion dollars.
It remains to be seen whether the overall growth trend will be maintained for the full month of February. Due to the inclusion of the Lunar New Year holidays, the total number of working days in February is 19, which is 3 days fewer than the 22 days recorded in the same period last year. Even so, the government is cautiously forecasting a positive growth rate.
A government official said, "Because the number of working days in February is 3 days fewer than last year, this is negative for total exports," but added, "Semiconductor exports are showing strong momentum, so despite the shortage of working days, there is a high possibility that exports in February will be in positive territory."
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