Exports advance 19.7% in first 10 days of November

South Korea’s exports jumped nearly 20 percent in the first 10 days of November on the back of increased working days, data showed Friday.

The country’s exports totaled $13.9 billion from Nov. 1-10, up from the $11.6 billion tallied over the same period last year, according to the Korea Customs Service.

Outbound shipments of semiconductors and auto parts soared 25.9 percent on-year and 39 percent, respectively, over the 10-day period, while exports of wireless devices fell 7.9 percent and those of ships shrank 26.1 percent.

The KCS said an increase in working days over the cited period contributed to the sharp rise, offsetting the impact of the production halt of Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy Note 7.

Imports also gained 7.9 percent on-year to $13.2 billion from Nov.1-10, with a trade surplus of $700 million.

Asia’s fourth-largest economy saw its monthly exports fall 3.2 percent in October, marking the 21st month of negative growth since January last year. (Yonhap)