Exports down 16.6% during first 10 days of September

Containers are stacked at a port in Busan on Sept. 9. [NEWS1]

Korea's exports fell 16.6 percent on-year in the first 10 days of September due mainly to fewer working days over the Chuseok holiday, data showed Tuesday.

The country's outbound shipments stood at $16.25 billion in the Sept. 1-10 period, compared with $19.5 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service.

Imports also went down 10.9 percent on-year to $18.69 billion during the cited period, resulting in a trade deficit of $2.44 billion.

The number of working days during the period came to 6.5 days, with the comparable figure for last year coming to 8.5 days.

The Chuseok holiday, or the Korean fall harvest celebration, started Friday and ran through Monday this year.

Yonhap