South Korea Jan exports beat forecasts, logs sharpest rise since 2021

By Cynthia Kim

SEOUL, Feb 1 (Reuters) – South Korea’s exports rose in January for an eighth consecutive month and at the fastest pace in four and a half years, as ‍demand for AI-servers continues to power the country’s chip sales, government data showed on Sunday.

Exports from Asia’s fourth-largest economy, a bellwether for global trade, rose 33.9% in January to $65.85 billion, trade data showed, beating a median 29.9% increase tipped in a Reuters poll of economists.

Imports also gained 11.7% in January ‌from a year earlier to $57.11 billion.

Exports of semiconductors ‌more than doubled, jumping 102.7% from a year earlier, extending the chip rally thanks to “the rise in memory prices since last year continued in January due to high demand for AI servers,” according to the trade ​ministry.

“The surge in chip sales is expected to continue for the time being due to factors such as soaring semiconductor prices ‍and supply shortages,” said Park Sang-hyun, an ​analyst at iM Securities, who said the larger ​number of working days in January this year also helped trade performance ‍as January last year had fewer working days.

Of the country’s 15 major export items, sales for 13 of them including chips, cars, petrochemical products, steel and computers increased.

Destination-wise, exports to China logged the sharpest exports increase, jumping by 46.7% on-year in January. Exports ‍to the U.S. increased 29.5% and to EU 6.9%.

“It is positive that major items such as semiconductors and automobiles as well as promising items ‍such as consumer goods ‍showed even growth,” industry minister Kim Jung-kwan said ​through the press statement.

“Having said that, uncertainty in ​the ⁠trade environment has increased due to the U.S. ‌tariff policy and the spread of protectionism.”

Kim on Saturday said South Korea needs more discussion with the U.S. on a trade deal they reached last year after two days of talks through Friday with his counterpart, following U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement to raise tariffs.

(Reporting by Cynthia Kim; Editing ⁠by Diane Craft)