S. Korea's exports tipped to rise 8.9 pct in February: poll

By Kang Yoon-seung

SEOUL, Feb. 24 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's exports are expected to rise 8.9 percent on-year in February to extend gains for a fourth month on robust shipments of chips and automobiles, a poll showed Wednesday.

The country's outbound shipments are expected to reach US$44.5 billion this month, according to the poll by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency. The survey was conducted on six local brokerage houses.

Imports were estimated at $42.7 billion this month, resulting in a trade surplus of $8.1 billion.

South Korea's exports rose 16.7 percent on-year in the first 20 days of February, customs data showed.

By segment, shipments of chips, the mainstay export product, were expected to climb 27.5 percent on-year, leading the overall gains.

Exports of automobiles and mobile devices were also estimated to have jumped 45.9 percent and 33.6 percent, respectively.

The increase was in part limited due to fewer working days on account of the Lunar New Year's holiday, which ran from Feb. 11 to 13. The holiday fell in January last year.

Overseas sales of petrochemical goods were expected to lose 5.7 percent.

In January, South Korea's exports rose 11.4 percent on-year, hovering above the expectations of 9.7 percent suggested by Yonhap Infomax. Exports of chips advanced 21.7 percent on-year to reach $8.7 billion, expanding on-year for the fifth consecutive month.

Last year, the country's outbound shipments came to $512.8 billion, down 5.4 percent from 2019.

South Korea expects this year's outbound shipments to rebound 8.6 percent on-year.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy will release its official monthly trade data Monday.

colin@yna.co.kr
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