Up 45.6% from a Year Ago
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on June 1 that South Korea’s exports added up to US$50.73 billion last month, up 45.6 percent from a year ago.
The rate of increase is the highest since August 1988, the rate was 41.2 percent in April this year, and it exceeded 40 percent for two months in a row for the first time ever.
The exports are on the increase these days. Specifically, the amount increased 3.9 percent year on year in November last year, 12.4 percent in December, 11.4 percent in January, 9.5 percent in February and 16.6 percent in March. The monthly amount exceeded US$50 billion for the third consecutive month last month, when the daily average jumped 49 percent to US$2.42 billion to exceed US$2.4 billion for the first time since 2018.
Last month, the exports of 14 out of the 15 major export items of South Korea increased with 12 showing an increase of more than 10 percent. Semiconductor exports increased by 24.5 percent and for the 11th consecutive month. Automobile exports increased 93.7 percent, the highest rate of increase in 176 months. Petrochemical and petroleum product exports surged 94.9 percent and 164.1 percent, respectively.
The exports to the nine major export destinations increased without exception for two months in a row. In addition, the exports to China, the United States, the European Union and the ASEAN region reached the highest or second-highest May figure.