Exports fell more than eight percent on-year in the first 20 days of September due to fewer working days.

According to tentative data from the Korea Customs Service on Wednesday, the country’s outbound shipments stood at 32-point-nine billion U.S. dollars in the cited period, down eight-point-seven percent from a year earlier. 

Average daily exports rose by one-point-eight percent, with the number of working days decreasing by one and a half days from last year to 13.

Shipments of semiconductors and petroleum products rose three-point-four percent and 38-point-eight percent, while exports of autos and wireless communication devices slipped seven-point-five percent and 25-point-nine percent, respectively. 

Exports to the country's major trading partners decreased, with shipments to China falling by 14 percent, the United States one-point-one percent, the European Union 15-point-three percent.

Imports rose six-point-one percent on-year to 37-point-one billion dollars during the cited period, resulting in a trade deficit of four-point-one billion dollars during the first 20 days of September, compared to a surplus of one-point-16 billion dollars logged a year ago.