In October, South Korea’s exports almost doubled – the sharpest jump in more than 50 years, Reuters reports.
According to government data released on Sunday, the surge was driven by rapidly rising global demand for investment in artificial intelligence, which boosted shipments of Korean microchips.
Exports from Asia’s fourth-largest economy, a key barometer of global trade, rose 93.7% compared with the same month last year to $115.28bn. The figure slightly exceeded the median forecast from economists, who had expected growth of 93.2%.
The rapid rise – partly due to a greater number of working days than last year because of differences in the dates of the Chuseok harvest festival – outpaced September’s 83.7% increase and was the strongest since January 1974.
Thanks to the global boom in AI investment, South Korea’s economy grew faster than expected in the third quarter. This was supported by strong semiconductor exports and investment in the sector, while chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix reported a sharp rise in profits.
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“As exports continue to show solid growth, having surpassed the $110bn mark in October, it is now quite clear that annual exports will reach $1 trillion as early as November,” said Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Kim Jong-kwan.
South Korea’s exports from January to October totalled $930bn. If annual exports exceed $1 trillion, South Korea will become the fourth country in the world – after the United States, China and Germany – to reach that milestone.