ICT exports reach fresh high in July

SEOUL, Aug. 12 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's exports of information and communication technology (ICT) products hit a record high in July, data showed Wednesday, rising for the 14th consecutive month thanks to global demand for chips and displays.

Outbound shipments of ICT products stood at US$19.5 billion last month, up 30.2 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Ministry of Science and ICT.

The figure marks a fresh high for July after reaching $18.5 billion in 2018.

Imports reached $11.32 billion last month, up 14.9 percent from a year earlier, resulting in a trade surplus of $8.17 billion.

Chips and dislays continued to boost South Korea's ICT exports last month, with semiconductor shipments increasing 38.8 percent on-year to $11.05 billion, topping the $10 billion mark for the third month in a row.

The ministry said robust demand and increasing prices led exports of memory chips to surge 43.8 percent to $7.14 billion over the cited period, while logic chip shipments jumped 35.8 percent to a record high of $3.34 billion.

Display exports rose 34.9 percent to $2.09 billion thanks to strong demand for organic light-emitting diodes (OLED) used in smartphones and televisions.

OLED exports nearly doubled last month, soaring 89.6 percent on-year to $1.22 billion and rising for the 11th consecutive month.

By destination, shipments to China, South Korea's largest trading partner, rose 30.7 percent on-year to $9.1 billion thanks to demand across the board.

Chip exports to the country rose 38.1 percent to $6.6 billion over the cited period, while display shipments increased 21.7 percent to $940 million.

Exports to Vietnam increased 17.9 percent to $2.94 billion, while those to the United States gained 47.3 percent to $2.65 billion.

South Korea's total exports in July jumped 29.6 percent on-year to a record $55.4 billion, extending their gains to a ninth consecutive month on strong auto and chip sales.

yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr
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