South Korea's trade surplus shrank in August from a month earlier as exports fell largely due to jittery external conditions and bad weather, the government said Saturday.

The country's trade balance came to $2.04 billion in the black last month, compared with a surplus of $2.75 billion in July, according to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy.

Exports dipped 6.2 percent on-year to $42.9 billion, with imports sliding 9.8 percent to $40.9 billion over the cited period.

The August figures mark the seventh consecutive month the country has posted a trade surplus since January, when the country's trade balance went into the red for the first time in 24 months. (Yonhap News)