Korea's October exports rose 93.7% year on year, the fastest since 1974, as chip shipments jumped 259.4%. The manufacturing PMI still fell to an eight-month low of 51.3. Saudi Q3 GDP shrank 3.8% with Hormuz capping oil volumes.
Chips now account for nearly half of South Korea’s shipments, putting a $1 trillion full-year export total within reach by mid-November as AI memory prices stay elevated. Source
Korean exports jumped 93.7% year on year in October to $115.28bn (forecast: 93.2%; previous: 83.7%). The trade ministry called it the fastest gain since January 1974. October had 22 working days against 20 a year earlier, so the daily average is the cleaner read: up 76.1% to $5.24bn. Semiconductors rose 259.4% to $56.44bn, roughly half of all shipments, while non-chip exports grew about 34%. Imports climbed 36.0% (forecast: 39.9%), which left a surplus of $42.50bn (forecast: $37.24bn).
