South Korea’s exports dropped 0.9 percent from a year earlier in May while its imports rose slightly, the government said Sunday.

The country’s outbound shipments amounted to $47.88 billion last month and imports gained 0.3 percent on-year to $42.53 billion, with the trade surplus coming to $5.35 billion, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

May marked the 28th consecutive month the country has posted a trade surplus.

The ministry attributed the drop in exports partly to a cut in the number of working days in May.

“Exports dropped slightly from a year earlier due to a cut in the number of working days although the daily average amount of exports reached the second highest of $2.23 billion last month,” it said in a press release.

Shipments to the European Union spiked 32 percent on-year, with exports to the United States also growing 4.5 percent on improving economic conditions in the advanced markets.

Exports to China, the world’s largest importer of South Korean products, on the other hand, plunged 9.4 percent on-year, apparently reflecting an economic slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy. (Yonhap)