South Korea's exports shrank for the 18th month in a row in June, falling 2.7 percent from a year ago to $45.3 billion, the trade ministry said Friday.

But the rate of export decline was the smallest in a year, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The rate of decline slowed from a 6-percent drop in the previous month and posted the smallest on-year fall since June last year when it fell 2.7 percent.


Imports continued to shrink at a faster clip, falling 8 percent on-year to $33.66 billion in June, extending their losing streak to 18 months.

The trade surplus came to a record $11.64 billion, marking the 53rd consecutive month of surplus.

The improvement came from a rebound in the exports of ships; the country's shipbuilding industry has been suffering from massive operating losses from overseas plant projects.

Shipments of vessels soared 29.6 percent on-year in June, a turnaround from a 16.7-percent drop in May.

Exports of South Korean computer chips continued their losing streak last month, edging down 0.4 percent on-year, but their contraction slowed from a 4.4-percent drop tallied a month earlier.

The auto industry also saw their overseas sales decrease, with car exports plunging 12.3 percent on waning demand in emerging countries, while outbound shipments of flat displays tumbled 25.2 percent due to a global oversupply.

By region, exports to China, South Korea's largest export destination, sank 9.4 percent last month from a year ago, continuing their losing streak since the beginning of the year.

Shipments to the United States and the European Union fell by 7 percent and 16.3 percent, respectively. (Yonhap)