Exports rose nearly ten percent in the first ten days of July.
 
According to preliminary data from the Korea Customs Service on Friday, the country’s outbound shipments reached 19-point-four billion U.S. dollars during the cited period, up nine-point-five percent from a year earlier.

The rise was led by growth in the nation’s major export items, with shipments of semiconductors increasing 12-point-eight percent from a year earlier to eight-point-nine billion dollars.

Automobile exports increased 13-point-three percent during the period, while ship exports increased 134-point-nine percent.

Exports to the United States and China rose six-point-one percent and six-point-two percent, respectively, while shipments to Hong Kong decreased 43 percent. 

Imports increased one-point-eight percent year-on-year to 20 billion dollars, resulting in a trade deficit of 600 million dollars.