South Korea’s trade surplus shrank from a year earlier last month as its exports dropped while imports grew at a steady pace, the government said Monday.

Outbound shipments came to $46.28 billion in August, down 0.1 percent from the same month last year, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Imports gained 3.1 percent on-year to $42.87 billion.

The country’s trade surplus came to $3.41 billion, compared with $4.72 billion in August 2013.

“Overall exports decreased slightly from a year earlier due to a one-day cut in the number of working days, but the daily average amount of exports rose from $1.97 billion in August 2013 to $2.06 billion last month,” it said in a press release.

The fall in exports was also attributed to a large drop in shipments of automobiles and auto parts that together account for about 14 percent of the country’s overall exports. (Yonhap)