South Korea's exports fall in early Feb

SEOUL, Feb 11 (Xinhua): South Korea's exports fell in the first 10 days of February due to less business days, the customs office data showed Sunday.

Exports, which account for about half of the economy, reached 14.8 billion U.S. dollars during the Feb. 1-10 period, according to the Korea Customs Service.

It was down 1.8 per cent from the same period of last year as the number of working days reduced to eight days from 8.5 days a year earlier.

The daily average exports, however, gained 4.4 per cent to 1.85 billion dollars in the cited period.

The country's export kept an upward momentum for 15 months through January, but it was widely forecast to fall in February as the number of working days reduce due to the Lunar New Year's holiday next week.

Demand for semiconductors kept a double-digit expansion this month, with exports for oil products and cars rising.

The shipments of smartphones continued to fall as local manufacturers increased production in overseas factories.

Imports advanced 17.6 per cent to 16.6 billion dollars in the cited period, sending the trade balance to a deficit of 1.84 billion dollars.