SEOUL, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's export grew for the 14th straight month due to strong demand for locally-made semiconductors, government data showed Sunday.
Export, which accounts for about half of the export-driven economy, rose 1.4 percent over the year to 56.35 billion U.S. dollars in November, continuing to expand since October last year, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
Import slipped 2.4 percent to 50.74 billion dollars last month, sending the trade surplus to 5.61 billion dollars. The trade balance stayed in black for the 18th consecutive month since June last year.
Of the country's 15 major export items, five products saw an expansion in outbound shipment.
Semiconductor export jumped 30.8 percent from a year earlier to 12.45 billion dollars in November, maintaining an upward trend for the 13th successive month.
The double-digit growth was attributed to demand for high-end chips such as DDR5 and high bandwidth memory products used in generative artificial intelligence chipsets.
Display panel shipment tumbled 22.0 percent to 1.49 billion dollars, with mobile device export retreating 3.3 percent to 1.7 billion dollars.
Computer export more than doubled to 1.35 billion dollars on steady demand for solid-state drives.
Automotive shipment dropped 13.6 percent to 5.64 billion dollars in November compared with the same month of last year, turning downward in three months on the back of lower car production in domestic factories.
Auto parts export declined 8.0 percent to 1.77 billion dollars, while general machinery shipment dipped 18.9 percent to 3.99 billion dollars.
Shipment for oil products plunged 18.7 percent to 3.65 billion dollars due to cheaper crude oil, while petrochemical export decreased 5.6 percent to 3.57 billion dollars.
Dubai crude, South Korea's benchmark, averaged 72.6 dollars per barrel in November, down 13.1 percent from a year earlier.
Steel export added 1.3 percent to 2.69 billion dollars, but those for home appliances and secondary batteries shrank in double digits to 570 million dollars and 660 million dollars each.
Export to the United States diminished 5.1 percent over the year to 10.39 billion dollars in November, marking the first fall in 16 months on lower demand for cars and general machinery.
Shipment to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations edged up 0.4 percent to 9.82 billion dollars owing to higher demand for semiconductors, while export to the European Union increased 0.9 percent to 5.44 billion dollars.
Export to Japan lost 1.9 percent to 2.49 billion dollars, but those to Latin America and the Middle East recorded a double-digit increase.
Regarding import items, the import of three major energy sources, including crude oil, natural gas and coal, reduced 10.8 percent to 10.74 billion dollars in November compared to the same month of last year.
Non-energy imports inched up 0.1 percent to 40 billion dollars on higher semiconductor demand. ■