South Korea's trade surplus rose to its highest level in nearly three years in May as increased shipments of smart phones as well as strong demand from China and the US countered negative impacts from a weak Japanese yen.
The trade surplus hit $6.03 billion in May, the largest since October 2010, data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) showed Saturday. In April, the surplus amounted to $2.45 billion.
Exports, which account for more than half of the country's national output, increased 3.2 percent in May from a year earlier to $48.37 billion. Economists had forecast 0.9 percent decline after a 0.4 percent increase in April.
The improvement suggests that South Korea is withstanding pressure from a weak yen, which has fallen by almost 20 percent compared to the average level in 2012.
Reflecting strong overseas demand for South Korea's IT products, shipments of mobile and telecommunication products such as smart phones surged 62.5 percent in May from last year, data showed
South Korea's exports to the U.S. grew 21.6 percent year-on-year in May and that to China rose 16.6 percent.
Total imports, on the other had, decreased 4.8 percent from a year earlier to $42.34 billion in May, partly due to fall in global oil prices.
Last month, the Bank of Korea lowered its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 2.50 percent to boost growth and counter the yen's fall. The rate was on hold for the past six rate-setting meetings of the central bank.
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