TABLE-S.Korea Dec exports jump 12.6% on-year, sharply beating forecasts

    SEOUL, Jan 1 (Reuters) - Following are South Korea's
preliminary export and import figures for December, released by
the government on Friday (rounded):

                                   Dec     *Nov
 Balance ($ billion)             +6.94    +5.90
 Exports ($ billion)             51.41    45.84
 (% growth vs yr ago)            +12.6     +4.1
 Imports ($ billion)             44.46    39.94
 (% growth vs yr ago)             +1.8     -1.9
 Avg exports per working day      +7.9     +6.4
 (% growth vs yr ago)                   
 * Revised on Dec. 15
       
    NOTES:
    - December exports expanded 12.6% from a year earlier,
sharpest growth in 26 months and much sharper than 4.1% growth
in November, trade ministry data showed on Friday.
    - For the whole of 2020, exports slid 5.4%, while imports
dropped 7.2%, data showed.
    - Reuters poll: Exports in December were expected to have
risen 5.6% from a year earlier, according to a median estimate
of 12 economists.
    - There were 24 working days in December, a day more than
the comparable month of 2019.

 (Reporting by Joori Roh
Editing by Chris Reese)