South Korea July exports rise 62.8% as chips and computers ride AI demand

1 (Reuters) - South Korea's exports grew more strongly than expected in July on global chip and computer demand for AI investments, preliminary trade data showed. Exports rose 62.8% from a year earlier to $98.89 billion, beating a median 59.0% increase in a Reuters poll of economists. The gain was weaker than June's 70.7% surge, the largest since 1978, but was still the second-strongest annual growth rate in a streak that started in June 2025. Semiconductor exports jumped 179% as memory chip prices continued to rise, the trade ministry said, even amid issues around Apple's potential use of Chinese memory chips and a new AI development in China. Computer sales surged 404% on increasing AI investments by big U.S. technology firms, the ministry said. Exports to China rose 96% and those to the U.S. gained 69%. Imports rose 26.5% to $68.56 billion, roughly in line with a 26.6% economist forecast. The monthly trade surplus was $30.32 billion after a record $36.09 billion the prior month. Earlier in the week, Samsung Electronics reported a more than 250-fold jump in chip profit and multi-year supply deals with major data centre operators, saying it expects global chip shortages to become more acute and extend into 2028. SK Hynix reported bumper quarterly results but fell short of lofty investor expectations. Memory and server suppliers capturing AI buildout orders gain from the export spike, while buyers already fretting slower big-tech AI spend face another month of shortage signals into 2028.