South Korea posted the second-biggest export in July on recovery of major economies, where the country ships locally-made products, a government report showed Wednesday.
Exports, which account for about half of the export-driven economy, grew 6.2 percent over the year to 51.88 billion U.S. dollars in July, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
It was the second-biggest outbound shipment ever logged by the economy, topping 50 billion dollars for the fifth consecutive month for the first time.
For the first seven months of this year, the exports hit a new high of 349.1 billion dollars, up 6.4 percent compared with the same period of last year.
The daily average export reached a record high of 2.22 billion dollars in the January-July period.
The brisk export came as major economies, on which South Korea relies for export, showed a solid recovery. China's gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 6.7 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier.
The U.S. economy posted an annualized growth rate of 4.1 percent in the April-June quarter. China and the United States are South Korea's top two trading partners.
Imports advanced 16.2 percent over the year to 44.88 billion dollars in July, sending the trade surplus to 7.01 billion dollars. The trade balance stayed in black for 78 months through last month.
Major export items grew by a double digit. Semiconductor export jumped 31.6 percent to 10.38 billion dollars last month, topping 10 billion dollars for three straight months.
Chip export continued to rise for 22 months in a row, but the growth rate slowed down from 44.4 percent in May to 39 percent in June and 31.6 percent in July each amid lower memory chip price.
Computer shipment rose 10 percent in July on demand from individuals for gaming and from companies for Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud server. Computer export kept rising for 16 months in a row.
Export of general machinery gained 18.5 percent last month on building and manufacturing recoveries in the United States and China, the world's top two economies.
Petrochemical export surpassed 4 billion dollars for eight months through July on expensive crude oil. Dubai crude, South Korea's benchmark, averaged 73.1 U.S. dollars per barrel in July, up 53.7 percent from a year earlier.
Oil product export maintained an upward momentum for 21 straight months amid the higher crude oil price, while steel shipment rebounded in four months on higher product price.
Display panel shipment managed to rise 2.4 percent in July on stronger demand for OLED panels that offset lower price of LCD panels.
Auto parts export continue to grow for four months in a row on robust demand from China and the United States, while textile export gained for the fifth consecutive month on recovering clothing industry in key economies.
Export for telecommunication devices, such as smartphones, rebounded in 28 months on demand for new models released in June by local manufacturers.
Automobile export, however, shrank 13.5 percent in July from a year earlier on soft demand from the United States.
Ship export tumbled 73.4 percent, and shipment of home appliances declined 15.9 percent.
By country, export to China, South Korea's biggest trading partner, advanced 27.3 percent in July on robust growth of the world's No. 2 economy.
Export to the United States was up 8.8 percent on demand for auto parts, general machinery, chip and petrochemical.
Shipment to the European Union (EU) gained for three straight months, with the figure to Vietnam turning around in five months.
Export to Japan rose for nine months in a row, while shipment to Latin American countries jumped 23.1 percent on demand for LNG carriers, display panels, steel and petrochemical.
However, shipment to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) shed 1.6 percent last month amid stiffer competition for electronic products and lower ship orders.
