South Korea's exports rose by nearly 27 percent on-year in the first ten days of December, raising hopes for an economic recovery amid the COVID-19 pandemic. 

According to tentative data from the Korea Customs Services on Friday, the country's outbound shipments stood at 16-point-three billion U.S. dollars in the cited period, up 26-point-nine percent from a year earlier. 
 
Compared to the same period last year, working days were up by one this year. Given the rise, the daily average exports during the ten-day period grew by eleven-point-nine percent. 
  
Shipments of semiconductors and autos jumped 52 percent and 22-point-four percent, respectively, while exports of petroleum products plunged 36-point-eight percent. 

Shipments to China and the United States grew by 12-point-one percent and 23-point-one percent, respectively, while exports to the Middle East slipped 33-point-six percent.