South Korea’s trade balance remained in the black for the third straight month in April despite minus growth in both exports and imports, a customs office report showed Tuesday.

According to the report by the Korea Customs Service, South Korea’s trade surplus amounted to $2.12 billion last month, down from a favorable balance of $2.37 billion tallied in March.

The monthly figure was slightly smaller than the surplus of $2.15 billion projected by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy for April earlier this month.

Exports contracted 4.8 percent on-year to $46.20 billion last month, while imports backtracked 0.2 percent $44.08 billion.

Outbound shipments were fueled by overseas demand for autos, steel and machinery products, with exports of ships, electronics and chemicals all falling compared to the year before.

Weak exports last month were attributed to the sluggish pace of global economic growth that hurt trade and demand for locally made goods.

The KCS report showed imports of grain and consumer products fell last month, which offset gains in crude oil and other fuel products. 

(Yonhap News)