SEOUL, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's exports managed to rise in October though the traditional Chuseok holiday reduced business days, a government report showed Wednesday.
Exports, which account for about half of the economy, reached 44.98 billion U.S. dollars in October, up 7.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
The country's exports ended a double-digit growth for the past nine months through September, but the overseas shipments continued to rise for 12 months in a row.
The Chuseok holiday, the South Korean version of Thanksgiving Day, shrank last month's working days by 4.5 days, but the exports kept rising thanks to strong demand for major items such as semiconductors and petrochemicals.
The daily exports averaged 2.5 billion dollars in October, up 33.9 percent from a year ago.
Imports gained 7.4 percent over the year to 37.65 billion dollars in October, sending the trade surplus to 7.33 billion dollars. The trade balance stayed in the black for the 69th consecutive month.
