South Korea's July exports rose 62.8% as chip shipments hit a record $41 billion

South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said in data released early on Saturday 1 August 2026 that the country's exports rose 62.8% in July 2026 from July a year earlier, reaching $98.89 billion. The figure beat the market expectation of 59.0%, though it eased from June's 70.7% surge, which was revised downward.

Imports rose 26.5% over the same month to a record $68.56 billion, leaving South Korea with a July trade surplus of $30.32 billion. It is the country's eighteenth consecutive month of surplus, and the figure surpassed the market estimate of $29.59 billion.

Semiconductors are the main driver behind the numbers: chip exports surged 178.8% in July to a record $41.01 billion, exceeding $40 billion for a second consecutive month, with strong demand for memory chips cited as the main cause. South Korean exports have now risen for fourteen straight months, and the July figure is the second highest on record, after June, when exports passed $100 billion for the first time. South Korea is one of the world's largest exporters of chips and intermediate goods, and its export cycle is treated as a leading indicator of global technology demand, a variable that reaches Iran's markets through global risk appetite.