South Korea's exports fell 0.3% in the first 20 days of the month from a year earlier, raising concerns that its outbound shipments are set to suffer a decline again in August, latest customs data showed Monday. 
Outbound shipments totaled US$22.4 billion from Aug. 1-20, down 0.3% from the same period last year, according to the Korea Customs Service (KCS). 
The figure backtracked from a 16% jump tallied from the first 10 days of the month due to a drop in overseas sales of cars and mobile devices, offsetting a gain in chips and steels. 
The latest data clouded an earlier outlook that the August figure may turn around on the back of recovering world trade and increased working days, South Korea's News Agency (Yonhap) reported. 
At the same time, South Korea's won is sharply gaining ground against the US dollar, hurting the price competitiveness of Korean-made goods in the global market. 
The country's exports have fallen for 19 straight months since January last year, led by a drawn-out slump in global demand and a drop in oil prices.