South Korea's trade balance posted a surplus last month, continuing to stay in the black for the 13 consecutive month, as a drop in imports outstripped a fall in exports, the government said Friday.

The country's exports came to US$42.32 billion in February, down 8.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy. Imports sank 10.7 percent on-year to $40.26 billion, leaving a $2.06 billion trade surplus.

Last month's fall contrasts with the on-year growth in both exports and imports in January, which went up 10.9 percent and 3.9 percent, respectively.

The drop in imports last month contributed to the increase in the surplus, the ministry said. The country's imports shrank to the smallest amount since March 2011, as purchases of raw materials, and capital and consumer goods fell.

The decrease in exports and imports came as South Korea had fewer number of working days in February due to the Lunar New Year's Day holiday, it said.

"Total exports fell due to the holiday season, which cut the working days down, but it led to an increase in average daily exports, growing 2.5 percent on-year," the ministry said in a press release. 

The ministry noted that while a weaker Japanese yen is feared to hurt local exporters, the growth in outbound shipments has helped Korea's trade balance stay sound against the currency concerns.

"For the first two months of this year, exports increased by 0.6 percent on-year with imports falling at a faster pace," the ministry said. "It's not bad considering the yen depreciation remains to be a negative factor." (Yonhap News)