Exports up 63.5 percent in first 10 days of October

Exprots jumped 63.5 percent on-year in the first 10 days of October on robust demand for chips, petroleum products and autos, customs data showed Tuesday.

The country's outbound shipments stood at $15.2 billion in the Oct. 1-10 period, compared with $9.28 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service.

Imports increased 58.6 percent on-year to $17.6 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $2.46 billion during the cited period, the data showed.

By sector, outbound shipments of memory chips, a key export item, rose 22 percent on-year and those of autos jumped 51.5 percent.

Semiconductors accounted for about 20 percent of exports by Korea, home to Samsung Electronics, the world's largest memory chip maker, and SK hynix. Autos made up around 7 percent of total exports.

Exports of petroleum products soared 206.6 percent in the cited period as oil prices remained high amid the global economic recovery.

By country, shipments to China -- Korea's largest trading partner -- rose 40.2 percent on-year, and those to the United States jumped 77.1 percent.

The Korean economy is on a recovery track.

Exports, which account for half of the economy, grew 16.7 percent on-year in September, extending their gains to the 11th straight month.

The Bank of Korea forecast Asia's fourth-largest economy to grow 4 percent this year. The government forecast economic growth of 4.2 percent.

Yonhap