On September 1, news emerged that South Korea's exports continued to grow robustly in August, driven by artificial intelligence demand boosting chip shipments and pushing the overall economy in a positive direction. This leaves the Bank of Korea with little reason to alter its recently adopted hawkish stance after two consecutive interest rate hikes. Data released by South Korean customs on Tuesday showed that, after adjusting for working days, exports in August rose by 72.5% year-on-year, while imports increased by 22.5%, resulting in a trade surplus of $34.7 billion. Unadjusted exports grew by 68.7% year-on-year, higher than the revised 63% in July. Semiconductors remained the primary driver of South Korea's export growth in August. These figures indicate that despite pressures from rising energy prices and geopolitical tensions, external demand remains strong, further supporting the Bank of Korea's decision last week to raise its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points for the second consecutive meeting.