SEOUL, July 11 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's exports posted a double-digit growth for the first 10 days of this month thanks to strong demand for locally-made ships and semiconductors, customs data showed Tuesday.
Exports, which account for about half of the economy, reached 14.3 billion U.S. dollars during the July 1-July 10 period, up 38.5 percent from the same period of last year, according to the Korea Customs Service.
The country's exports kept rising for eight months through June. The continued increase in overseas shipments was attributed to demand for ships and chips.
Ship exports almost sextupled in the cited period, while those for semiconductors surged 50.4 percent.
Shipments in telecommunication devices such as smartphones tumbled 23.7 percent, with those for automobiles falling 0.2 percent.
Exports to Japan increased 12.7 percent, with those to Vietnam and China growing 11.2 percent and 4.9 percent respectively.
Those to the United States and the Middle East countries declined 2 percent and 3.7 percent each.
The daily average exports amounted to 2.04 billion dollars for the first 10 days of July, up 38.5 percent from the same period of last year.
Imports increased 17.2 percent to 12.2 billion dollars, sending the trade surplus to 2.1 billion dollars during the July 1-July 10 period.
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