Risk and sentiment
Korea Semiconductor Exports YoY
Year-over-year change in Korea's semiconductor export value index. Semiconductors are the country's largest export item and drive KOSPI large-cap earnings, making this the export series closest to the equity market.
At a glance
Korea Semiconductor Exports YoY: latest value and prior change
As of 2026-07-31, Korea Semiconductor Exports YoY is 182.0 %. It is 21.00 pp lower than 203.0 % on 2026-06-30.
Across 307 available observations from 2001-01-31 to 2026-07-31, the latest value is at the tie-adjusted 100th percentile.
- Observed on
- Default comparison window
- 2001-01-31–2026-07-31
- Observations · observed cadence
- 307 · Monthly
- Data source
- Bank of Korea ECOS
A high or low percentile does not by itself make the indicator positive, negative, or a buy or sell signal.
Time-series chart
Korea Semiconductor Exports YoY
2001-01-31–2026-07-31
Long-history series are stored as real provider observations. Index, FX, VIX, and ratio charts use historical backfill where providers expose it; Korean investor flow and margin-credit feeds expand as stable historical endpoints become available.
Recent observations and calculated changes
The ten latest chart observations. Change subtracts the previous observation; intervals vary with holidays, release schedules and missing data. A difference in rates or ratios is not an investment return.
| Observed | Value | Previous date | Difference (current − previous) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-07-31 | 182.0 % | 2026-06-30 | -21.00 %p |
| 2026-06-30 | 203.0 % | 2026-05-31 | 30.27 %p |
| 2026-05-31 | 172.8 % | 2026-04-30 | -5.92 %p |
| 2026-04-30 | 178.7 % | 2026-03-31 | 23.43 %p |
| 2026-03-31 | 155.3 % | 2026-02-28 | -10.69 %p |
| 2026-02-28 | 165.9 % | 2026-01-31 | 60.19 %p |
| 2026-01-31 | 105.8 % | 2025-12-31 | 61.28 %p |
| 2025-12-31 | 44.47 % | 2025-11-30 | 5.28 %p |
| 2025-11-30 | 39.19 % | 2025-10-31 | 12.92 %p |
| 2025-10-31 | 26.27 % | 2025-09-30 | 3.68 %p |
Source: Bank of Korea ECOS
Interpretation guide
Linking the memory cycle to KOSPI through chip exports
Korea Semiconductor Exports YoY measures the year-over-year change in the semiconductor export value index. As Korea's largest single export category and the sector dominating the top of KOSPI's market cap, it is the most direct public readout of the memory-chip cycle, with far wider swings than other export lines.
Why the swings are so wide
Memory chips are commoditized, so small supply-demand imbalances move prices sharply, and export value follows this price cycle more than volume. Double-digit and occasionally near-triple-digit YoY swings are normal behavior for this series, not anomalies.
- Use DRAM and NAND contract price trends to separate price rebounds from genuine volume recovery.
- When the year-ago month was a cycle trough, base effects alone inflate growth, so check absolute value levels too.
- The moment the rate of decline peaks and starts narrowing is the most-watched point for calling a cycle turn.
The direct line to KOSPI
With Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix at the top of KOSPI's capitalization, the chip export cycle is tightly entangled with the index itself. Share prices tend to move ahead of shipments, so this series works better as confirmation of a rally's substance than as a forecasting tool.
- Check whether chip-stock rallies are backed by improving export data to separate earnings from pure expectation.
- Stocks have sometimes peaked before export growth did, so avoid treating record prints as buy signals.
- A widening gap versus overall Korea Exports YoY flags weakness in non-semiconductor categories.
Companion indicators and caveats
Chip exports double as a leading signal for the broader economy, but one sector's cycle does not represent national conditions. Global end demand, from data-center capex to smartphone sales, determines how durable any upswing will be.
- Compare direction with the Korea Leading Cycle Index to distinguish a sector signal from an economy-wide one.
- Alignment with Taiwanese export data helps separate global demand factors from Korea-specific ones.
- Early-month interim trade data includes a semiconductor line, offering a preview before the monthly index.