S. Korea`s trade surplus tops US$5.1 bln in July

By Lee Joon-seung
SEOUL, Aug. 1 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's trade surplus reached US$5.14 billion in
July mainly due to a plunge in imports, a government report showed Saturday.
The country's exports came to $32.73 billion last month, falling 20.1 percent
on-year, with imports plummeting 35.8 percent to around $27.59 billion, according
to the report by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy.
The monthly surplus is smaller than the record $7.27 billion tallied for June but
is much higher than the $3.8 billion reported for April 1998 when the country was
struggling to cope with the Asian financial crisis by cutting back spending.
The ministry said exports of ships gained 7.6 percent on-year with outbound
shipments of liquid-crystal displays surging 33.6 percent.
Mobile communication equipment, semiconductors, autos and textiles all posted
negative growth, although the rate of decline improved compared to the first half
of the year.
Imports, meanwhile, continued to fall short of last year's total as the country
used less money to buy crude oil, natural gas and other raw materials.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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