S. Korea’s Exports Gain 11.1% from April 1-20

South Korea's exports rose 11.1% on-year in the first 20 days of April on surging global demand for semiconductors, data showed Monday. Outbound shipments reached $35.82 billion in the April 1-20 period, compared with $32.25 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Per-day exports also advanced 11.1% on-year to $2.31 billion. Imports grew 6.1% on-year to $38.5 billion during the first 20 days of April, resulting in a trade deficit of $2.6 billion. Exports, a key economic growth engine, have been on a solid recovery track since late last year after a yearlong downturn. Chip exports jumped 43% to $5.85 billion from April 1-20. Semiconductor exports accounted for 16.3% of the country's total exports during the cited period, up 3.6 percentage points from a year earlier. The government expected exports to advance 8.5% this year to reach a record high of over $700 billion. South Korea had logged a monthly trade surplus for the 10th consecutive month through March. Source: Qatar News Agency