Seoul, Jan 21 (IANS) South Korea's exports expanded 14.9 per cent from a year earlier in the first 20 days of this month, driven by strong demand for semiconductors, data showed on Wednesday.

Outbound shipments reached US$36.36 billion in the January 1-20 period, compared with $31.63 billion tallied over the same period last year, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service, reports Yonhap news agency.

Imports increased 4.2 per cent on-year to $36.98 billion during the period, resulting in a trade deficit of $600 million, the data showed.

The daily average volume of exports also advanced 14.9 per cent on-year, as the number of working days during the period remained unchanged at 14.5 days from a year earlier.

By item, exports of semiconductors surged 70.2 per cent from a year earlier to $10.73 billion. Chip exports accounted for 29.5 per cent of the country's total exports over the cited period, up 9.6 percentage points from the same period last year.

Exports of petroleum products went up 17.6 per cent to $2.46 billion, and steel exports edged up 1.2 per cent to $2.4 billion.

But automobile exports sank 10.8 percent on-year to $2.87 billion, while shipments of vessels dipped 18.1 per cent to $1.33 billion.

By destination, exports to China, South Korea's top trading partner, soared 30.2 per cent on-year to $8.45 billion.

Shipments to the United States jumped 19.3 per cent to $6.66 billion despite the tariff scheme by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration, the data showed.

In December, exports expanded 13.4 per cent from a year earlier to $69.6 billion on strong demand for semiconductors, marking the 11th consecutive month of an on-year increase.

For 2025, outbound shipments reached an all-time high of $709.7 billion.

--IANS

na/