SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korea’s exports unexpectedly rose in October on robust demand for chips and ships, even as businesses remained cautious amid a global outlook clouded by Washington’s tariff policies, data showed on Saturday.
Exports from Asia’s fourth-largest economy, an early bellwether for global trade, stood at $59.57 billion in October, up 3.6% from a year earlier, compared with a forecast for a 0.2% decline in a Reuters poll of economists.
Exports of semiconductors rose 25.4% from a year earlier. Ship sales also surged 131.2%, while sales for petrochemical goods jumped 12.7% year on year.
Imports declined 1.5% in October to $53.52 billion.
The monthly trade balance stood at a surplus of $6.06 billion, down from $9.53 billion in September.
(Reporting by Cynthia Kim; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
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