RoK enjoys trade surplus for 64 consecutive months hinh anh 1The Republic of Korea had enjoyed trade surplus for a 64-month streak in May (Photo: EPA)

Seoul (VNA) - The Republic of Korea had enjoyed trade surplus for a 64-month streak in May spurred by strong exports on the global demand upturn, the country’s Customs Service announced on June 15.

However, the country’s trade surplus plunged substantially in May to 5.68 billion USD from 12.9 billion USD recorded in April.

The East Asian economic power logged 6.34 billion USD in trade surplus with Southeast Asian countries, including 2.91 billion USD with Vietnam. Meanwhile, it saw 2.59 billion USD in trade surplus with China, its largest trade partner.

The country’s trade surplus with the US dwindled more than 50 percent to 864 million USD from 1.78 billion USD tallied a year ago amid the RoK Government’s efforts to reduce its surplus with the world’s largest economy.

Data also showed that RoK’s trade with Middle East nations and Japan experienced a deficit of 3.77 billion USD and 2.17 billion USD, respectively.

The country’s exports have been on sharp rise since November last year thanks to the brisk overseas demand for RoK semiconductors and vehicles. In May, exports picked up 13.3 percent year-on-year to 45 billion USD while imports rose 19.1 percent year-on-year to 39.3 billion USD.-VNA
VNA