A government trade agency raised its forecast for South Korean exports on Sunday, saying it now expected growth of 12.5 percent in 2006 rather than 12 percent, thanks to the resilient global economy.
But the Korea Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) said export growth in the second half of the year would be 11.1 percent higher than a year earlier, slowing from an estimated 14.1 percent annual rise in the first six months of the year.
The agency predicted that this year's export volume would top $320 billion.
"Despite a firm won, exports in the second half of 2006 will rise for a ninth consecutive half-year to mark annual export growth of more than 10 percent, due to continued robust shipments to China, Japan and BRICs countries," it said in a statement.
The BRICs countries are Brazil, Russia, India and China.
South Korea's commerce ministry said on Saturday that exports in June rose faster than expected to set a record for the second consecutive month, defying concerns that the firm won and high oil prices could hurt shipments abroad.
During the first six months of the year, exports grew 13.9 percent from a year earlier, the ministry's data showed.
The commerce ministry said it would release forecasts on foreign trade for the second half of the year on July 4, when it may revise its export target for all of 2006, earlier set at 11.8 percent growth from last year.
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