S. Korea's exports surge 52.3 pct in 20 days of July

SEOUL, July 21 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's exports surged in double digits in the first 20 days of July due to soaring demand for locally-made semiconductors, customs office data showed Tuesday.

The outbound shipment jumped 52.3 percent from a year earlier to 54.93 billion U.S. dollars in the July 1-20 period, according to the Korea Customs Service.

The daily average export spiked 62.9 percent to 3.79 billion dollars in the 20-day period.

Semiconductor exports skyrocketed 180.6 percent to 22.11 billion dollars, but automotive shipments sank 10.6 percent to 3.24 billion dollars.

Exports of oil products mounted 33.4 percent on expensive crude oil, caused by the renewed Middle East tensions.

Computer shipments shot up 231.9 percent to 2.04 billion dollars thanks to solid demand for solid-state drives, driven by expanded demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure.

Those for steel products, ships and mobile devices posted a double-digit expansion.

Imports advanced 20.0 percent over the year to 42.71 billion dollars in the first 20 days of July, sending the trade surplus to 12.22 billion dollars.

Imports of chips, semiconductor equipment, crude oil, natural gas, coal, machinery and mobile devices all recorded a double-digit increase in the cited period.