South Korea posted a trade surplus for the 18th straight month in July, fueled by strong exports of petroleum products, ships and automobiles, the customs office said Tuesday.

The trade surplus came to $6.3 billion last month, up from $2.8 billion reported a month earlier, according to data by the Korea Customs Service.

During the first seven months of the year, Korea’s cumulative trade surplus reached $22 billion, the data showed.

Exports totaled $50.6 billion last month, up 25.2 percent from a year earlier, while imports grew 25 percent on-year to $44.3 billion.

Petroleum products and ships led export growth, with their overseas shipments jumping 90.1 percent and 22.9 percent, respectively. Sales of vehicles also advanced 22.1 percent over the same period, the data showed.

Exports bound for Japan surged 37.9 percent to $3.4 billion.

Shipments to China and the United States grew 20.9 percent and 2.5 percent to $11.9 billion and $4.7 billion, while those to the European Union declined 15.3 percent to $4.2 billion.

Imports rose mostly due to higher prices of raw materials, with costs of purchasing crude oil surging 67.6 percent on-year to $8.63 billion last month, according to the data. 

(Yonhap News)