The corresponding import figure was $45,610, up 5.1 percent from a year ago. The trade balance was a surplus of $4.9 billion, continuing a rally for 21 months in a row. The cumulative trade surplus for the year to date has been $35.9 billion.
The attainment of $50-billion exports is especially meaningful because it was achieved amid a situation where major exporters were seeing their competitive advantage erode owing to a strengthening won. The average won-dollar exchange rate for the whole month of October was 1,066.44 won per dollar, down 3.6 percent from 1,106.50 won a year ago.
Despite the strong won, Korea's exporters in such items as mobile communications devices and automobiles did very well in major economies including the U.S., the EU, and China. For example, exports to the U.S. increased 23.2 percent from the same period in 2012. As for exports to the EU, it rose 16.0 percent after two months of negative growth. The exports to China rose 5.5 percent from a year ago thanks to good performance in semiconductors and mobile devices.
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