Exports grow 3.3% in first 10 days of December

Exports rose 3.3 percent on-year in the first 10 days of December, Korea Customs Service data showed Monday. Pictured are shipping containers stacked at a port in Busan. [NEWS1]

Korea's exports rose 3.3 percent on-year in the first 10 days of December on the back of rising demand for vehicles and the shipbuilding sector.

Outbound shipments reached $15.79 billion in the Dec. 1 to 10 period, compared with $15.29 billion tallied a year earlier, according to Korea Customs Service data on Monday.

The number of working days during the cited period came to 8.5 days, unchanged from a year earlier.

Imports sank 15.3 percent on-year to $17.2 billion during the period, resulting in a trade deficit of $1.4 billion.

In November, exports advanced 7.8 percent on-year to $55.8 billion, the second consecutive monthly gain, driven by upbeat chip sales in the global market.

BY KIM JU-YEON, YONHAP [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]