South Korea export growth seen easing but chip boom to hold

SEOUL, July 30 : South Korean exports likely extended robust growth in July, with the pace weakening from a near-half-century high but posting the second-strongest gains in the current winning streak led by surging AI chip demand, a Reuters poll showed on Thursday. Exports from Asia's fourth-largest economy, a bellwether for global trade, were forecast to rise 59.0 per cent in value in July from a year earlier, according to the median estimate of 15 economists in the survey.That would be slower than the 70.7 per cent surge in June, which was the biggest jump since 1978, but still the second-strongest annual growth rate in the current streak that started in June 2025. The export gains continue to be driven by chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, as memory chip prices climb amid a gl