South Korea's outbound shipments have continued to expand so far this month, government data showed Saturday, suggesting a possible recovery in exports following a downturn over the past two years.

    In the first 10 days of February, outbound shipments amounted to US$15.1 billion, up 72.8% from the same period last year, according to data from the customs office, cited by state news agency (Yonhap).

    An on-year increase for the entire month of February will mark a fourth consecutive month of increase for the first time at least since January 2015. South Korea's exports had dipped for 19 consecutive months since the start of 2015 before posting a 2.6% rise in August 2016. 

    They again slipped 5.9% and 3.2% on-year in September and October, respectively, before gaining 2.5% in November, followed by a 6.4% rise in the following month. In January, exports spiked 11.2% on-year to $40.3 billion, marking the first double-digit growth in 48 months since January 2013. 

    The sharp increase in exports so far in February has been partly attributed to a 79.4% spike in shipments of semiconductors. Shipments of petroleum products more than doubled, surging 137.7% on-year over the cited period, while those of automobiles and auto parts spiked 91.6% and 37.3%, respectively, according to the customs data.