South Korea December Trade Surplus $12.17 Billion

(RTTNews) - South Korea posted a merchandise trade surplus of $12.17 billion in December, the Customs Office said on Thursday.

That was shy of expectations for a surplus of $12.18 billion but was still up from $9.74 billion in November.

Exports rose 13.3 percent on year, missing forecasts for an increase of 13.4 percent but still up from 8.4 percent in the previous month.

Imports added an annual 4.6 percent, matching forecasts and up from 1.1 percent a month earlier.