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| ▲ This photo, taken on Jan. 21, 2022, shows a port in South Korea's southeastern city of Busan. (Yonhap) |
(LEAD) trade balance-January
(LEAD) Exports up 15.2 pct in January on robust chip shipments
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By Oh Seok-min
SEOUL, Feb. 1 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's exports soared 15.2 percent in January from a year earlier on the back of brisk demand for chips, data showed Tuesday.
Outbound shipments stood at US$55.32 billion last month, compared with $48 billion a year earlier, marking the 15th consecutive month of rise, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
It is the highest figure for any January since the ministry began compiling the related data in 1956. The previous record was set in January 2018 when the figure came to $49.2 billion.
"The monthly exports marked double-digit growth despite the spread of the omicron COVID-19 variant, high prices of raw materials, and a high base effect," the ministry said in a release.
Imports surged 35.5 percent to $60.21 billion due to high oil prices and growing demand for energy in winter, resulting in a trade deficit of $4.89 billion.
By segment, shipments of semiconductors, a key export item, jumped 24.2 percent in January from the previous year. Chips accounted for about 20 percent of exports by South Korea, home to Samsung Electronics Co., the world's largest memory chip maker, and its smaller rival SK hynix Inc.
Sales of petrochemicals advanced 40 percent and steel exports spiked 50.1 percent, according to the data.
By country, exports to China and the United States, South Korea's two largest trading partners, climbed 13.1 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively, the data showed.
Last year, the country's exports rose 25.8 percent on-year to reach an all-time high of US$644.54 billion on the back of solid demand for chips and petroleum products amid a global economic recovery.
In December, exports soared 18.3 percent on-year to hit a monthly high of $60.74 billion, marking the 14th consecutive month of growth.
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