SEOUL: South Korea’s economy posted trade surplus for 59 months through December due to recovery in exports, which account for about half of the export-driven economy, customs data showed Monday. Trade surplus was 6.8 billion U.S. dollars in December, down from 8.1 billion dollars tallied in November, according to the Korea Customs Service (KCS). The trade balance stayed in black for 59 months in a row since February 2012 as exports recovered on the back of higher prices in oil products and semiconductors. Overseas shipments increased 6.4 percent from a year earlier to 45.1 billion dollars in December. Imports gained 8 percent to 38.3 billion dollars.
Exports of chips and oil products climbed 22.4 percent and 14.5 percent each thanks to higher export prices, with those for cars and steel products growing 7.3 percent and 1.8 percent respectively. Ship exports tumbled 10.5 percent, and auto parts shipments lost 5.4 percent. Shipments of telecommunication devices, including smartphones, posted a double-digit decline amid stiffer competition. For the whole year of 2016, trade surplus reached 89.4 billion dollars. Exports declined 5.9 percent over the year to 495.5 billion dollars last year, while imports slumped 7.0 percent to 406.1 billion dollars.
