S Korea trade surplus $2.76 billion

South Korea, facing declining exports, had a trade surplus of $2.76 billion in July, the Korea Customs Service said Tuesday. Although it marked the sixth consecutive month of a surplus trade balance, the July numbers were down nearly 41 percent from the $4.65 billion surplus in the same month of last year. July exports were down 8.8 percent year-on-year to $44.6 billion, while imports were down 5.4 percent to $41.9 billion, leaving a surplus of $2.76 billion surplus, Yonhap News Agency reported. On the export front, shipments of automobile parts and display panels increased slightly from a year earlier due to growing overseas demand, but they were more than offset by those of ships plunging 58.3 percent and those of telecommunications dropping 24.8 percent. Copyright 2012 United Press International, Inc. (UPI). Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.