South Korea logs trade surplus for 30th consecutive month in July

South Korea logged a trade surplus for the 30th consecutive month in July on rebounding exports, customs data showed Thursday.
South Korea's exports came to US$48.3 billion last month, up 5.4% from a year earlier, while imports rose 5.8% on-year to $45.9 billion, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service.
Earlier this month, the trade ministry estimated that exports would amount to US$48.4 billion in July, up 5.7% from the same month last year. It correctly predicted the amount of imports, according to (Yonhap) news agency.
The customs data showed that Korea logged a trade surplus of $2.4 billion last month, marking 30 straight months of a surplus since February 2012. During the January-July period, its cumulative trade surplus totaled $22.6 billion.
Exports of semiconductors, oil products and passenger vehicles gained 0.7%, 10.6% and 20.4%, respectively. Those of ships and computers declined 13.9% and 14.5%.
Exports bound for the United States and the European Union expanded 18.7% and 9.6%, while those to China dropped 7.1%, according to the data.