Exports rose more than ten percent year-on-year in the first ten days of December on the back of robust exports of semiconductors.

According to preliminary data from the Korea Customs Service on Wednesday, the country’s outbound shipments reached 17-point-six billion U.S. dollars during the cited period, up 12-point-four percent from a year earlier.

Average daily exports increased by five percent, or two-point-34 billion dollars.  

Exports of semiconductors jumped 43 percent, while shipments of automobiles and petroleum products slipped eight-point-six percent and nine-point-four percent, respectively.

Exports to China and the United States rose about 19 percent, but shipments to Malaysia fell by 26-point-two percent.

Imports rose eleven-point-six percent year-on-year to 19-point-one billion dollars during the 10-day period, resulting in a trade deficit of one-point-55 billion dollars.