Exports plunged more than 20 percent in the first ten days of May due to fewer working days and the impact of U.S. tariffs. 

According to preliminary data from the Korea Customs Service on Monday, the country’s outbound shipments reached 12-point-eight billion U.S. dollars during the cited period, down 23-point-eight percent from a year earlier.

Average daily exports, however, edged down just one percent, with the number of working days decreasing by a day and a half to five days.  

All but one of the nation’s ten major export items posted declines, but semiconductors proved to be an exception, increasing 14 percent on-year during the ten-day period. 

Exports to the United States plunged more than 30 percent, with shipments to China declining more than 20 percent and those bound for Europe plummeting more than 38 percent. 

Imports fell 15-point-nine percent year-on-year to 14-point-six billion dollars, resulting in a trade deficit of one-point-seven billion dollars.