Seoul, April 1 || South Korea's exports gained 3.1 percent from a year earlier in March, marking a second consecutive month of increase, driven by robust demand for semiconductors and other information technology (IT) products, data showed on Tuesday.
Outbound shipments came to US$58.3 billion last month, compared with $56.5 billion the previous year, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, reports news agency.
Imports rose 2.3 percent on-year to $53.3 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $4.98 billion.
Outbound shipments of semiconductors jumped 11.9 percent on-year to $13.1 billion in March, rebounding from a 3 percent on-year decrease the previous month, thanks to strong demand for high-value products, such as high bandwidth memory and double data rate 5 (DDR5) memory chips.
Shipments of other IT products also gained ground, with exports of computers, including solid state drives, soaring 33.1 percent to $1.2 billion, logging 15 straight months of increase. Shipments of wireless communications devices climbed 13.8 percent to $1.3 billion and display exports added 2.9 percent to $1.5 billion, snapping a seven-month losing streak.
Auto exports gained 1.2 percent to $6.2 billion as an increase in shipments of hybrid cars and internal combustion engine vehicles offset a decrease in electric vehicle (EV) sales.