SEOUL: South Korea posted trade surplus for 47 straight months due to a faster fall in imports than exports, customs data showed on Friday.
Exports, which account for about half of the economy, declined 14.1 percent from a year earlier to 42.5 billion U.S. dollars in December, according to Korea Customs Service.
Imports dipped at a faster pace to 19.2 percent in December at 35.5 billion dollars.
Trade surplus reached 7 billion dollars in December, keeping a surplus trend for 47 months in a row.
Exports of chips, ships and automobiles posted a double-digit decline last month, and those for oil products sank 28 percent amid lower crude oil prices.
Shipments of telecommunication devices, including smartphones, dipped 17.8 percent, with those for LCD display plunging 29.2 percent.
Exports to China and the United States, South Korea’s top two trading partners, slumped 16.5 percent and 5.5 percent each last month, with those to the European Union and Japan sliding 7.7 percent and 13.5 percent each.
Imports of raw materials dropped 26.8 percent last month due to cheaper oil, but consumer goods imports grew 4 percent amid recovering domestic demand.
