Some welcome news on the trade front for South Korea.<br />The nation's exports in August jumped 8-point-7 percent on-year, thanks to strong sales of semiconductors and petrochemical products.<br />Kim Mok-yeon reports. <br /> The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy says South Korea's outbound shipments reached 51-point-two billion U.S. dollars last month, marking an all-time high for the month of August.<br />Exports in the January-to-August period surged nearly seven percent on-year, another record high. <br /> The ministry attributed the rising trend to the global economic recovery and robust prices of major export items, including memory chips and petrochemical goods.<br />By sector, shipments of petroleum products saw the biggest increase in August, jumping 46 percent on-year, followed by semiconductors and steel products.<br />By country, exports to China posted the largest jump last month, climbing more than 20 percent on-year.<br />Shipments to Vietnam and Japan saw the next biggest increases respectively.<br /> Imports jumped nine-point-two percent on-year to 44-point-three billion dollars in August for a trade surplus of almost seven billion dollars.<br /> It marks the 79th month in a row that South Korea has posted a trade surplus.<br />Kim Mok-yeon, Arirang News. <br />
