SEOUL- South Korea’s exports are expected to extend gains for an eighth consecutive month in May on a sustained recovery in computer chip demand, a Reuters poll showed on Thursday.
Exports in May from Asia’s fourth-largest economy are forecast to have leapt 14.2 percent from a year earlier, according to the median estimate of 15 economists in the survey conducted May 23-29.
That would be slightly faster than an annual rise of 13.8 percent in April and mark the fastest rate since January.
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.
Semiconductor exports likely stayed resilient, buoyed by demand related to artificial intelligence, with shipments to the United States constantly strong and those to China improving, according to economists.
“It is expected that IT products, namely semiconductors, and ships will continue to lead growth in exports,” said Park Sang-hyun, economist at HI Investment Securities.
In the first 20 days of this month, exports rose 1.5 percent , as shipments of semiconductors jumped 45.5 percent . By destination, exports to the United States and China rose 6.3 percent and 1.3 percent , respectively.
