SEOUL- South Korea’s exports are expected to have risen for an 11th straight month in August, a Reuters poll showed on Thursday, with economists noting rising momentum in Chinese demand.
Consumer inflation, meanwhile, is expected to come down to the central bank’s medium-term target of 2 percent for the first time in almost 3-1/2 years, the survey also showed.
Exports in August from Asia’s fourth-largest economy are forecast to have risen 13.0 percent from a year earlier, according to the median estimate of 16 economists in the survey conducted Aug. 23-28.
That would be just a bit smaller than an annual rise of 13.9 percent in the previous month, which was the strongest since January. The figure suggests demand for South Korean goods remains robust, economists said, citing base effects.
South Korea is the first major exporting economy to report monthly trade figures each month, providing an early glimpse into the state of global demand.
Its exports have been growing since October 2023, led by semiconductors and US shipments on demand related to artificial intelligence.
“Exports of IT products, including semiconductors and computer parts, are continuing to grow at a fast speed, while car sales are also seen swinging back to growth,” said Stephen Lee, economist at Meritz Securities.
In the first 20 days of this month, exports jumped 18.5 percent , with shipments of semiconductors and automobiles climbing 42.5 percent and 7.9 percent , respectively. By destination, exports to the United States rose 18.0 percent , while those to China were up 16.3 percent .
“Most of all, the recovery in China-bound shipments will lead the export growth in August,” said Park Sang-hyun, economist, iM Securities.
