South Korea exports and imports have both jumped in the first 10 days of the month

South Korean customs agency with the data for the first third of the month:

• exports +3.8% y/y
• Trade balance at provisional $-1.23 bln
• imports +11.1% y/y

Meanwhile South Korea and the US are in discussions over the detaining of South Korea workers in the US after a U.S. immigration raid saw 475 workers rounded up at a Hyundai Motor site earlier this week:

• will discuss establishing a new visa category for Koreans
• Foreign Minister Cho Hyun met U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday
• chartered plane carrying the workers will depart the United States on Thursday travelling back to South Korea
• Cho told Rubio that Koreans were “hurt and shocked” by the arrest of workers “who came to the U.S. to transfer technology and know-how to contribute to the Trump administration’s efforts to revive the U.S. manufacturing industry”

This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at investinglive.com.