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South Korea factory growth hits 4-month high as export orders boom, PMI shows

The PMI rose to 53.9, while new export orders jumped at the fastest pace since March 2011, S&P Global said.

  • On Thursday, South Korea reported record-breaking September exports of $120.9 billion, surging 83.5 percent from a year earlier as factory activity reached its strongest pace in four months.
  • Semiconductor exports rose 263 percent to $60.3 billion, while shipments to China increased 123 percent to $26 billion, driven by robust demand for memory chips and wireless communications equipment.
  • While automobile exports fell 5.5 percent to $6.05 billion hurt by the Chuseok holiday, petroleum products jumped 72 percent to $7.22 billion and cosmetics shipments rose 31.4 percent to $1.51 billion.
  • The S&P Global purchasing managers index climbed to 53.9 in September, remaining above the 50-point expansion threshold for a 10th consecutive month as manufacturers' optimism reached an eight-month high.
  • Imports climbed 26 percent to $71.09 billion, securing an unprecedented monthly trade surplus of $49.85 billion as new export orders increased at the fastest pace since February 2021.
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14 Articles

Lean Right

South Korea benefits from the global AI boom like hardly any other country. Chips now account for half of the country's exports – and drive the trade surplus to a record high.

·Düsseldorf, Germany
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Lean Right

South Korean exports last month amounted to EUR 107 billion, an increase of 83.5% over one year.

·Paris, France
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Left

September exports surpassed $120 billion for the first time in history. The trade surplus also approached $50 billion. Cumulative exports through September reached $814.5 billion, and if this trend continues, annual exports are expected to break the $1 trillion mark by mid-November. This would be the fourth such record in the world, following Germany, the United States, and China. [Industry and Trade]

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연합뉴스-Yonhap News Agency broke the news in Seoul, Korea (the Republic of) on Thursday, October 1, 2026.
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