South Korea's exports continued to grow steadily in early September. Global demand for artificial intelligence boosted exports of semiconductor products, benefiting the South Korean economy, which is highly dependent on trade. According to data released by Customs on Monday, exports increased 89.8% year-on-year in the first 20 days of September after adjusting for differences in working days. The initial reported export increase for the same period in August was 61.5%. Unadjusted exports increased 78.3%, imports increased 26.7%, and the trade surplus was close to $23 billion. Semiconductors are still the engine driving export growth, and chip exports surged 259.4% year over year. Exports of petroleum products increased by 47.8%, and exports of automobiles increased by 9.3%. By destination, exports to China increased by 113.8%, and exports to the US increased by 118%. Exports to Vietnam and the EU increased by 44.8% and 37%, respectively. The data showed that South Korea's trade momentum at the end of the third quarter was still strong, further confirming the Bank of Korea's view that the economy is strong enough to withstand higher borrowing costs. The Bank of Korea raised the benchmark interest rate by 0.25 percentage points to 3% in August, raising interest rates for the second time in a row. As growth was stronger than expected and potential inflation was tenacious, policymakers took pre-emptive action.

South Korea's exports continued to grow steadily in early September. Global demand for artificial intelligence boosted exports of semiconductor products, benefiting the South Korean economy, which is highly dependent on trade. According to data released by Customs on Monday, exports increased 89.8% year-on-year in the first 20 days of September after adjusting for differences in working days. The initial reported export increase for the same period in August was 61.5%. Unadjusted exports increased 78.3%, imports increased 26.7%, and the trade surplus was close to $23 billion. Semiconductors are still the engine driving export growth, and chip exports surged 259.4% year over year. Exports of petroleum products increased by 47.8%, and exports of automobiles increased by 9.3%. By destination, exports to China increased by 113.8%, and exports to the US increased by 118%. Exports to Vietnam and the EU increased by 44.8% and 37%, respectively. The data showed that South Korea's trade momentum at the end of the third quarter was still strong, further confirming the Bank of Korea's view that the economy is strong enough to withstand higher borrowing costs. The Bank of Korea raised the benchmark interest rate by 0.25 percentage points to 3% in August, raising interest rates for the second time in a row. As growth was stronger than expected and potential inflation was tenacious, policymakers took pre-emptive action.