South Korea's exports continued to grow strongly in early July, thanks to demand for semiconductors spawned by artificial intelligence, which continued to drive the economy. According to data released by Korea Customs on Tuesday, after adjusting for working days, exports surged 62.9% year on year in the first 20 days of July, setting the highest export record for the same period in July; the increase was 49.7% in the same period last month. Without adjustment, exports increased by 52.3% year on year, and imports rose 20% year on year, achieving a trade surplus of US$12.2 billion. The data shows that South Korea's external demand remains resilient, supported by continued investment in artificial intelligence and data centers. Semiconductors continue to be the core engine of South Korea's exports and overall economic growth, hedging the negative impact of the Middle East situation to a certain extent. Chip exports soared by 180.6% year on year, exports of computer-related products increased by nearly 232%, fuel exports rose 33.4%; automobile exports fell 10.6% year on year. The impressive foreign trade data confirms the Bank of Korea's decision to raise interest rates last week — the bank raised policy interest rates for the first time after a lapse of more than three years. All members agreed to raise the benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 2.75%, and sent a signal of continued tightening of monetary policy: current inflation is still higher than the policy target, and the economic growth rate is expected to exceed the central bank's previous forecast.

South Korea's exports continued to grow strongly in early July, thanks to demand for semiconductors spawned by artificial intelligence, which continued to drive the economy. According to data released by Korea Customs on Tuesday, after adjusting for working days, exports surged 62.9% year on year in the first 20 days of July, setting the highest export record for the same period in July; the increase was 49.7% in the same period last month. Without adjustment, exports increased by 52.3% year on year, and imports rose 20% year on year, achieving a trade surplus of US$12.2 billion. The data shows that South Korea's external demand remains resilient, supported by continued investment in artificial intelligence and data centers. Semiconductors continue to be the core engine of South Korea's exports and overall economic growth, hedging the negative impact of the Middle East situation to a certain extent. Chip exports soared by 180.6% year on year, exports of computer-related products increased by nearly 232%, fuel exports rose 33.4%; automobile exports fell 10.6% year on year. The impressive foreign trade data confirms the Bank of Korea's decision to raise interest rates last week — the bank raised policy interest rates for the first time after a lapse of more than three years. All members agreed to raise the benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 2.75%, and sent a signal of continued tightening of monetary policy: current inflation is still higher than the policy target, and the economic growth rate is expected to exceed the central bank's previous forecast.