South Korea posted a trade surplus for the 35th month in a row in December, helped by a rise in overseas shipments and a decline in imports, customs data showed Thursday.
According to the data released by the Korea Customs Service, the country’s trade surplus came to $5.74 billion last month, up from $5.39 billion tallied for the previous month and $3.63 billion a year earlier.
Exports moved up 3.6 percent on-year to $49.7 billion, while imports contracted 0.9 percent to $43.95 billion. Export, import and surplus numbers are roughly on par with provisional figures released by the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy on Jan. 1.
South Korea’s latest trade surplus streak has been maintained without interruption since February 2012.
Overseas sales of semiconductors rose 11.6 percent, with cars, liquid crystal devices and mobile telecommunication equipment all posting gains. (Yonhap)
