South Korean exports surge for 6th straight month

Seoul

SOUTH Korean exports rose at a much faster-than-expected pace in April, surging for a sixth straight month helped by robust demand for high-tech memory chips and adding confirmation to perceptions of broad recovery in the global economy.

Exports to the United States rose in April but South Korea's trade surplus with that country declined on an annual basis over the same period, Monday's data showed, potentially easing concerns that Washington may impose protectionist measures that could hurt South Korea's economy - Asia's fourth-largest.