South Korea exports nearly double in October, strongest growth since 1974

SEOUL, Nov 1 : South Korea's exports nearly doubled in October from a year earlier, beating market expectations and marking the sharpest jump in more than 50 years, trade data showed on Sunday.

Exports from Asia's fourth-largest economy, a bellwether for global trade, rose 93.7 per cent last month to $115.28 billion, slightly higher than a median 93.2 per cent rise forecast in a Reuters poll of economists.

The increase, boosted by favourable calendar effects of more working days due to the timing difference in local Chuseok holidays, beat September's 83.7 per cent gain and was the strongest since January 1974.

Overseas sales of semiconductors jumped 259.4 per cent as prices and volume remained high on continued facility investment by global big tech firms in the competition for artificial intelligence industry leadership, the trade ministry said.

Computer sales surged 496.6 per cent on increasing server demand for AI services.

Imports rose 36.0 per cent to $72.78 billion, after rising 26.0 per cent in September, to post the biggest annual increase since January 2022.

The country's monthly trade balance stood at a surplus of $42.50 billion, narrower than a record $49.97 billion surplus in the previous month.