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Korea's exports in September rose 18.7 percent from a year ago, the highest monthly increase ever, powered by greater overseas demand for information-technology products and electronic appliances. Exports, which account for about two-fifths of the economy, totaled $24.72 billion last month, passing the $24 billion mark for the first time on a monthly basis, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy said Saturday. Customs-cleared exports showed strong growth for the second consecutive month, despite the strengthened domestic currency against the U.S. dollar, high oil prices, Hurricane Katrina, and strikes at the nation's two biggest automakers that dented production, the ministry highlighted. It said imports gained 20.7 percent annually to $22.65 billion in September amid a surge in crude oil prices. The trade surplus reached $2.07 billion, an increase from August's $1.55 billion but a drop from $2.64 billion recorded in September 2004. Reversing a weakening trend in daily shipments since February, average daily exports last month hit $1.1 billion, passing the $1 billion mark for the first time. Overall, shipments to China, Korea's largest export market, grew 24.5 percent year-on-year in September. But shipments to the United States, the country's second-largest trade partner, declined 17 percent. Damage caused by Hurricane Katrina last month dampened consumption in the world's largest economy, while refineries in the Gulf of Mexico, which accounts for about 30 percent of U.S. output, were shut down and strained national fuel supplies.
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