South Korea November exports beat forecasts, led by chips and autos

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SEOUL, Dec 1 (Reuters) – South Korea’s exports rose in November for a sixth consecutive month, beating market expectations, as chip sales hit a record on strong technology demand while autos also jumped after a U.S. trade deal.

Exports from Asia’s fourth-largest economy, a bellwether for global trade, rose 8.4% from the same month a year earlier to $61.04 billion, trade data showed on Monday, stronger than a median 5.7% increase tipped in a Reuters poll of economists.

That was also faster than a 3.5% rise in October.

Semiconductor exports rose 38.5% to a record monthly high of $17.26 billion, as strong demand for advanced chips used in data centres led to higher memory chip prices.

Auto exports jumped 13.7% as uncertainty was cleared over U.S. tariffs after South Korea finalised a trade deal with the U.S. in November, following months of negotiations.

Still, shipments to the U.S. were down 0.2%, as steel products, machinery and auto parts fell due to tariff impact.

Shipments to China rose 6.9%, while those to Southeast Asian countries rose 6.3%. Shipments to the European Union fell 1.9%.

The Bank of Korea signalled last week it was near the end of its monetary easing cycle as it raised its economic growth forecast for next year on strong semiconductor exports.

The trade-reliant economy grew in the third quarter at the strongest pace in a year and a half, as exports remained robust on technology demand, countering headwind from U.S. tariffs.

Imports rose 1.2% to $51.30 billion in November, after falling 1.5% in October. That was weaker than a 3.4% rise expected by economists.

The monthly trade balance stood at a surplus of $9.7 billion, compared to the previous month’s $6.0 billion and the biggest since September 2017.

(Reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Tom Hogue and Christopher Cushing)