S Korean exports of petroleum products up 36.4 pct. in Oct.

South Korean exports of petroleum products surged 36.4 percent in October from the same month a year before on the back of rising overseas demand, the government said Wednesday. The country's export sales of petroleum products soared to 4. 54 billion U.S. dollars last month from 3.33 billion U.S. dollars in the same month last year, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said. In terms of volume, the country exported 38.35 million barrels of petroleum products, up 1.6 percent over the same period. Shipments to Asian countries made up 88.4 percent of the total exports, with those to China rising 22.5 percent to over 9.1 million barrels and Japan up 49.9 percent to 6.32 million barrels, it said. Local consumption of petroleum products rose 0.3 percent over the cited period, mainly driven by a 2.7 percent increase in the industrial sector.