Exports rose by over ten percent on-year in the first 20 days of March, driven by demand for semiconductors and petroleum products.

According to tentative data from the Korea Customs Service on Monday, the country’s outbound shipments totaled 37-point-three billion U.S. dollars during the cited period, up ten-point-one percent from a year earlier.

Average daily exports rose by 26-point-four percent, with the number of working days falling by two days from last year.

Shipments of semiconductors rose 30-point-eight percent and exports of petroleum products soared nearly 80 percent, while exports of autos and auto parts slipped 18-point-one percent and nine-point-one percent, respectively.

Exports to China and the United States increased eleven-point-three percent and six percent each, while outbound commodities to Hong Kong plunged 24 percent.

Imports rose 18-point-nine percent on-year to 39-point-three billion dollars during the cited period.