South Korea's trade surplus widened slightly in May from the previous month as exports shrank at a slower pace than imports, a government report showed Friday.

The country's trade balance was US$2.4 billion in the black last month, up from the $2.1 billion surplus tallied in April, according to the report by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy. Last month marked the fourth month in a row that the country posted a trade surplus, although trade volume contracted for the third straight month compared to the year before.

Exports came to $47.2 billion last month, down 0.4 percent on-year, with imports also contracting 1.2 percent to $44.8 billion, the report said.

"The slight decrease in exports was caused by mounting global economic uncertainties that have hurt trade across the board," the ministry said.

While autoparts, general machinery and steel have done well, there was a sharp drop in overseas demand for ships, mobile communications equipment and petrochemicals, it added.

Overseas shipments of car parts and general machinery, which benefited from free trade agreements with the European Union and the United States, rose 11.9 percent and 10.3 percent last month vis-a-vis May 2011, while steel and automobiles gained 6.2 percent and 3.7 percent, each.

Exports of ships and mobile communication equipment plunged

17.4 percent and 35.7 percent, respectively, while petrochemicals were down 17.1 percent on-year.

On imports, local demand for capital and consumer goods as well as commodities declined, although higher international energy prices caused imports of crude oil and natural gas to go up.

Imports of crude oil and natural gas jumped 18.2 percent and

22.4 percent compared to the year before.

The latest report showed exports to the Middle East and Latin America soaring 38 percent and 22.4 percent on-year, with gains of

4.9 percent being reached for Japan. Outbound shipment for the United States, the European Union and China all fell by double digits.

Exports to China, South Korea's No. 1 overseas market, were down 10.3 percent.

In the first five months of this year, South Korea's exports reached $228.21 billion, for a gain of 0.6 percent from a year earlier, while imports increased 4.1 percent to $222.19 billion for a combined trade surplus of around $6.02 billion.

The ministry said Asia's fourth-largest economy should be able to maintain its trade surplus in June, with exports likely to pull off positive growth. It also said, however, that slower-than-expected economic growth in China and mounting eurozone woes could adversely affect future trade conditions. (Yonhap News)