South Korea, Asia’s fourth-largest economy and a bellwether for global trade, saw its exports grow for the ninth consecutive month in February. Although uncertainty over U.S. tariff policies has cast a shadow on the outlook, strong chip sales have continued to underpin the overall growth of South Korea’s exports. Trade figures showed that the country’s export volume rose by 29.0% year-on-year in February, hitting USD 67.45 billion and outpacing economists’ expectations for a 24.0% increase. Meanwhile, imports climbed 7.5% year-on-year, falling short of the estimated 13.0%. The preliminary trade surplus for February came in at USD 15.51 billion.
