By Jihoon Lee
SEOUL, April 1 (Reuters) - South Korea's exports beat forecasts in March to post their strongest growth in nearly four decades on a boom in chip demand driven by artificial intelligence, offsetting supply disruptions from the Middle East conflict.
Exports from Asia's fourth-largest economy, a bellwether for global trade, rose 48.3% from a year earlier to a record high of $86.13 billion, preliminary trade data showed on Wednesday, higher than a median 44.9% increase forecast in a Reuters
poll.
The annual growth rate was stronger than 28.7% in February and the strongest since August 1988.
Exports of semiconductors jumped 151.4% to a record high of $32.83 billion on rising memory chip prices and increasing server demand for AI investment.
Exports of petroleum products rose 54.9% on a surge in oil prices triggered by the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran last month, while auto sales rose 2.2% amid supply disruptions due to the conflict.
By destination, exports to China rose 64.2%, while those to the United States and the European Union were up 47.1% and 19.3%, respectively. Shipments to the Middle East dropped 49.1%.
Imports rose 13.2% in March to $60.40 billion, after rising 7.5% in February, as oil prices rose but volume declined on supply disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. It was weaker than a median 18.0% increase forecast by economists but still the fastest since September 2022.
The country's trade balance stood at a surplus of $25.74 billion, wider than $15.38 billion in the previous month and an all-time high.
(Reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Sonali Paul and Stephen Coates)
