By Kim Tae-gyu
Staff Reporter

South Korea extended its red-hot streak of $20 billion-plus monthly exports to the third month in May, with the trade surplus topping $3 billion for the first time in over five years.



``Korea’s exports amounted to $20.9 billion last month, up 42.4 percent from a year ago. Imports also jumped 32.3 percent to $17.89 billion, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy (MOCIE) said on Tuesday.

Exports have hovered just above the $20 billion plateau for the last three months in a row and the nation has been in the black for the last 14 consecutive months.

Korea chalked up a $3.01 billion trade surplus in May, recording the best monthly performance since December 1998, when the figure was as high as $3.77 billion.

This year’s accumulated surplus rose to $12.44 billion, surpassing the previous annual target of $10 billion. Late last week, the MOCIE doubled the target to $20 billion based on strong outbound shipments.

``Despite a string of external shocks, like China’s contingency plan and soaring crude oil prices, brisk overseas sales of high-tech items continue to prop up record-high exports,’’ a MOCIE official said.

Exports of wireless telecom equipment shot up to $2.24 billion, up 82.9 percent since last year while external sales of semiconductors and computers rocketed up by 66.4 percent and 42.5 percent to $2.31 billion and $1.63 billion, respectively.

By region, China-bound shipment exploded by 91.6 percent, followed by Hong Kong with 78.8 percent, the United States with 60.7 percent and Japan with 44.4 percent.

For the first time this year, imports also increased by more than 30 percent, largely due to increased imports of raw materials and capital goods.

In particular, the nation spent $2.25 billion to procure crude oil last month, marking a 34 percent rise from 2003, as its average purchase price leapt by $10.42 during the year to $34.75 per barrel.

However, the figure represents just a 6.6 percent hike from April, as Korea slashed the amount of oil imports by 7.4 million barrels, from the original plan to buy 64.5 million barrels.

voc200@koreatimes.co.kr