Korea posted a trade surplus for the 14th straight month in March, fueled by strong exports of petroleum products, vehicles and ships, the nation's customs office said Friday.
The trade surplus came to $2.78 billion last month, according to data provided by the Korea Customs Service. This marked the 14th consecutive month of surplus since February 2010.
Exports totaled $48.07 billion last month, up 28.9 percent from a year earlier, while imports expanded 27.3 percent on-year to $45.29 billion, the data showed.
Oil-related products and vehicles led export growth, with their sales jumping 90.7 percent and 24.4 percent, respectively. Sales of ships also surged 70 percent.
Exports bound for Japan rose 53.8 percent, despite last month's devastating earthquake in the country. Products sold in Southeast Asian countries and China posted 38.2 percent and 18.1 percent gains, respectively.
Imports grew mostly
due to higher costs of buying raw materials. Imports of crude oil jumped 60
percent last month from a year earlier, according to the data.
Source:
Yonhap News (April 15, 2011)