South Korea's exports rose 4.6 percent on-year in the first 20 days of October on robust shipments of cars and petroleum products, data showed Monday.

The country's outbound shipments reached $33.8 billion in the Oct. 1-20 period, compared with $32.3 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service.

Imports rose 0.6 percent on-year to $37.6 billion during the period, resulting in a trade deficit of $3.74 billion.

Exports fell for the 12th month in a row in September on aggressive monetary tightening by major economies and a global economic slowdown, but the country reported a trade surplus for the fourth straight month on falling energy imports.

The government expected a turnaround in exports as early as October as global demand for South Korean semiconductors has shown signs of recovering and has vowed all-out efforts to support exporters. (Yonhap)